Claudine Gay (born August 4, 1970) is an American political scientist and academic administrator. She 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 the politics of race and identity. Gay earned a B.A. in economics from Stanford University, where she received the Anna Laura Myers Prize, and completed her Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University around 1998. She began her academic career as an assistant professor of political science at Stanford from 2000 to 2005, becoming a tenured associate professor in 2005 before joining Harvard in 2006 as a professor of government. Gay held several leadership roles at Harvard, including dean of social science in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), Edgerley Family Dean of FAS, and the 30th president of Harvard University starting in July 2023, becoming the first Black president and second woman in the role. Her presidency was historic but also the shortest-serving in Harvard's history, ending with her resignation on January 2, 2024. This followed congressional testimony in December 2023 where her responses to questions about antisemitism on campus were criticized as equivocal, and amid allegations of plagiarism in her scholarly work. Harvard investigated the plagiarism allegations and found them to constitute 'duplicative language' but not research misconduct, though additional instances were later identified. Her tenure as president drew significant controversy, including criticism for her handling of campus protests related to the Israel-Hamas war and broader debates on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Post-resignation, Gay returned to her faculty position at Harvard.