No matter what you think of Harvard University, one thing you can’t dispute is how important the institution used to be, in previous generations. It was a Harvard faculty member who first popularized the smallpox vaccine in the United States. Harvard researchers developed some of the world’s first computers. A Harvard scientist named James Watson famously modeled the DNA double helix. Harvard was an institution that made real-world discoveries that changed the lives of millions of people. When you heard from Harvard professors and administrators, you took them seriously. They weren’t cynical political actors. They were competent and serious. That was the whole point of Harvard.
With that history in mind, it was both depressing and surreal to watch this recent video message from Harvard’s new president, a political scientist named Claudine Gay. In case you missed it, Gay took over as Harvard’s president this year, to much fanfare, for the simple reason that she is now the first black president of the university. Her skin color and gender were her primary qualifications. No one denies this; it’s how Harvard admits students these days, and it’s how Harvard selects faculty members and administrators.
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