Harvard Names a New President, an Insider and Historic First

Harvard University (MA) has announced that its new president will be Claudine Gay, the dean of Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences. She will be the first African American, and second woman, to ascend to the presidency, succeeding Lawrence S. Bacow. Dr. Gay will take office in July 2023, just as the university faces a pivotal Supreme Court decision that may force it to revise its longstanding admissions processes, which have been criticized for considering factors that favor white and wealthy candidates while also using affirmative action to bolster enrollment by Black and Hispanic students.