harvard university

I was at Claudine Gay’s inauguration as Harvard’s 30th president. I saw her family waving Haitian flags. I stood between a college administrator from Japan, there to celebrate her, and two Stanford faculty who taught her. Literally, the world watched Gay at the apex of her career.

For Prudence Carter, a professor of sociology at Brown University, Claudine Gay’s resignation as president of Harvard University felt like “another moment of collective trauma.”

Capping off a stunning series of events, Claudine Gay, the first Black woman to ever lead Harvard University, announced Tuesday that she is resigning from the presidency after less than six months on the job.

The Harvard faculty, staff and board of trustees should be applauded for standing in support of President Gay. Let’s hope Harvard’s first Black president can continue to receive the support she deserves for her illustrious career and lifetime commitment to higher education. 

A group of Boston-area civil rights lawyers and advocates has filed a federal civil complaint against Harvard University claiming its longstanding practice of granting so-called legacy and donor-related college admissions favors white applicants and is “unfair and unearned.

Harvard was conducting its sedate commencement exercises in 1970 when a young community activist from a nearby section of Cambridge mounted the stage, bullhorn in hand, with 20 other protesters.

Claudine Gay, an acclaimed political scientist and proven administrator in the trench warfare of higher education, was elevated last week to the pinnacle of the ivory tower, becoming the first African American to lead Harvard University in the school’s fourth century of existence.

Following Harvard University’s disclosure that it has held in its collections hair samples taken from 700 Native American children, local activists are calling for passage of legislation that would enable tribes to recover from museums human remains, sacred objects and other items stolen or taken illegally from Indigenous people.

Harvard students interviewed in Cambridge last week expressed skepticism that a $100 million commitment by the university to compensate for its ties to slavery will be effectively spent.

Members of Harvard workers’ unions rallied Nov. 9 to show solidarity with the university’s custodians and security guards, who are in the midst of a contract negotiation.

Harvard University professor Dr. Cornel R. West, who had been threating a second departure from the Ivy League institution since he was not offered a tenured position last month, announced Monday that he will leave for a post at Union Theological Seminary, where he was first hired at 23-years-old.

The Harvard University administration presented a damaging example to the students by terminating the faculty dean Ronald S. Sullivan Jr.