Harvard University Makes History, Welcomes First Black President

Claudine Gay is the first Black person and second woman to lead the university.

Harvard University welcomed its newest president, Claudine Gay on Friday. She is the first Black person and second woman to lead the university.

“I stand before you today, humbled by the prospect of leading Harvard, emboldened by the trust you have placed in me and energized by your own commitment to this singular institution and to the common cause of higher education,” Ms Gay said. She delivered her address to an audience sheltering from rain under a sea of umbrellas.

“I stand before you today humbled by the prospect of leading Harvard, emboldened by the trust you have placed in me, and energized by your own commitment to this singular institution and to the common cause of higher education,” she said.

She also talked about courage. “The courage of this University – our resolve, against all odds – to question the world as it is and imagine and make a better one: It is what Harvard was made to do,” Ms Gay said.

She also said that Harvard should celebrate diversity as a force that deepens and strengthens campus life.

“We embrace diversity – of backgrounds, lived experiences, and perspectives – as an institutional imperative,” she said. “When we do that, it’s not with a secret hope for calm or consensus. It’s because we believe in the value of dynamic engagement and the learning that happens when ideas and opinions collide.”

Claudine Gay is the 30th president since Harvard University’s founding in 1640.