Claudine Gay
Claudine Gay | |
|---|---|
Gay in 2023 | |
| 30th President of Harvard University | |
| In office July 1, 2023 – January 2, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Lawrence Bacow |
| Succeeded by | Alan Garber |
| Dean of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences | |
| In office August 15, 2018 – June 30, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Michael Smith |
| Succeeded by | Emma Dench (interim) Hopi Hoekstra |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 4, 1970 New York City, U.S. |
| Spouse | Christopher Afendulis |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | Roxane Gay (cousin) |
| Education | Princeton University Stanford University (BA) Harvard University (PhD) |
| Academic background | |
| Thesis | Taking charge: Black electoral success and the redefinition of American politics (1997) |
| Doctoral advisor | Gary King |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Political science |
| Institutions | Stanford University (2000–2006) Harvard University (2006–present) |
Claudine Gay (born August 4, 1970) is an American political scientist who is the Wilbur A. Cowett Professor of Government and of African and African-American Studies at Harvard University. Her research focuses on American political behavior, including voter turnout and politics of race and identity.
Gay served as the dean of Social Sciences at Harvard from 2015 to 2018, as the dean of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences from 2018 to 2023, and as the 30th president of Harvard University from July 2023 to January 2024.
In December 2023, Gay and two other university presidents faced pressure from the public and from a congressional committee to resign, over responses to instances of antisemitic violence on the campus. Amid this pressure campaign Gay was accused of plagiarism in academic publications, although the allegations have been sharply contested. In January 2024, she resigned from the presidency.