Harvard University inaugurates Claudine Gay as school’s first Black president
In a historic first, Harvard University inaugurated new president Claudine Gay on Friday, the first Black person and second woman to lead the university.
“I stand before you on this stage with the weight and the honor of being a first,” Gay told an audience huddled under umbrellas and windbreakers, as rain poured down on the inauguration ceremony in Cambridge.
Gay is the 30th president since Harvard University’s founding in 1640. In her inaugural speech, she spoke of her vision for the Ivy League school.
“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.
