Claudine Gay, PhD, Inaugurated as Harvard University’s First Black President

Leading political science scholar Dr. Claudine Gay assumed office as the 30th President of Harvard University in 2023, making her the university’s first Black president since its founding in 1636 and the second woman president. Dr. Gay earned her PhD in political science from Harvard University in 1998. She returned to Harvard in 2006 as a professor of government and became professor of African-American studies a year later. She was named both dean of Social Studies at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Wilbur A. Cowett Professor of Government and African and African-American Studies in 2015. Three years later, she became the Edgerley Family Dean of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Gay served from September 2023 until her resignation in January 2024.