- Née:
- Catharine Drew Gilpin
- Born:
- September 18, 1947, New York, New York, U.S. (age 79)
- Title / Office:
- American Philosophical Society (2004)
- Subjects Of Study:
- the South
Drew Gilpin Faust
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Who is Drew Gilpin Faust?
Drew Gilpin Faust, born on September 18, 1947, is an American educator and historian. She is renowned for being the first female president of Harvard University, serving from 2007 to 2018.
Faust's career includes roles such as the founding dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard and Lincoln Professor of History at Harvard. Her work includes publications such as This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War (2008), which explores the Civil War's impact on American views of death. She has also been an officer and board member of historical associations and a Pulitzer Prize judge.
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What roles has Drew Gilpin Faust had as an educator?
Drew Gilpin Faust has had an extensive career in education. She joined the University of Pennsylvania faculty as an assistant professor in 1976, eventually becoming a full professor in 1984. She held endowed professorships, chaired the American civilization department, and directed the women’s studies program. In 2001, Faust became the founding dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard. In 2007, she became the first female president of Harvard University, a position she held until 2018.
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For which university did Drew Gilpin Faust serve as president?
Drew Gilpin Faust served as the president of Harvard University from 2007 to 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the position. Faust did not graduate from Harvard; she is the first president since the 17th century without a Harvard degree. Before becoming president, in 2001, Faust became the founding dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard, the successor to Radcliffe College, and was also appointed Lincoln Professor of History at Harvard.
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What is Drew Gilpin Faust known for in the field of history?
Drew Gilpin Faust is an American educator and historian, known as the first female president of Harvard University (2007–18). She is also renowned for her historical works, which include This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War (2008), a study of the Civil War's impact on American views of death, and Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War (1996), which won the 1997 Francis Parkman Prize from the Society of American Historians. Throughout her career, Faust has been an active member of historical associations, such as the American Historical Association and the Southern Historical Association.
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How did Drew Gilpin Faust make history as a woman in higher education?
Drew Gilpin Faust made history as the first female president of Harvard University, appointed in 2007. This was a significant milestone, as she was also the first president since the 17th century without a Harvard degree. Before this, Faust was the founding dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard, formerly Radcliffe College, Harvard's women's college. She is an American educator and historian, and she stepped down as president in 2018.
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What are some of Drew Gilpin Faust’s major contributions to education and historical scholarship?
Drew Gilpin Faust is an American educator and historian, known as the first female president of Harvard University (2007–18). Before that, in 2001, she became the founding dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard, which succeeded Radcliffe College. Also, she was appointed Lincoln Professor of History at Harvard.
Faust's historical scholarship includes books such as This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War (2008), which explores the Civil War's impact on American views of death, and Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War (1996), which won the 1997 Francis Parkman Prize.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Drew Gilpin Faust (born September 18, 1947, New York, New York, U.S.) is an American educator and historian who was the first female president of Harvard University (2007–18).
Gilpin grew up in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, where her parents raised Thoroughbred horses. She graduated from Concord (Massachusetts) Academy in 1964 and received a B.A. in history magna cum laude from Bryn Mawr College in 1968. She took the name Faust when she married in 1968; the marriage ended in 1976. She earned M.A. (1971) and Ph.D. (1975) degrees in American civilization from the University of Pennsylvania, where she joined the faculty as an assistant professor in 1976. In 1984 she became a full professor; she subsequently held endowed professorships, chaired the department of American civilization, and directed the women’s studies program. In 2001 Faust became founding dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard, the successor to Radcliffe College, which had been Harvard University’s women’s college; she was also appointed Lincoln Professor of History at Harvard.
In July 2007 Faust became the 28th president of Harvard University. She was the first woman to hold the office and the first president since the 17th century who did not have a Harvard degree. She succeeded Lawrence H. Summers, who resigned in the wake of controversy over remarks that attributed women’s lack of visibility in the sciences to intrinsic sex differences. Within her first six months in office, Faust filled several open deanships and appointed other top administration officials. She supervised a major campus expansion in nearby Boston, assessment and expansion of the role of the arts in the university, and continuation of work on a substantial revision of the undergraduate curriculum. In 2009, however, she instituted layoffs and pay freezes after Harvard’s endowment suffered a major loss during the global financial crisis. Her refusal to take a pay cut drew some criticism. Over the next several years Harvard’s financial situation improved as the U.S. economy recovered. Faust stepped down as president in 2018.
Faust’s publications included A Sacred Circle: The Dilemma of the Intellectual in the Old South, 1840–1860 (1977), The Creation of Confederate Nationalism: Ideology and Identity in the Civil War South (1982), James Henry Hammond and the Old South: A Design for Mastery (1982), Southern Stories: Slaveholders in Peace and War (1992), and Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War (1996), which received the 1997 Francis Parkman Prize from the Society of American Historians. This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War (2008) assesses the lasting impact of civil war fatalities on American attitudes toward death. A documentary based on the book aired on PBS in 2012.
Faust served as an officer of the American Historical Association and the Southern Historical Association, a board member of the Society of American Historians and the Organization of American Historians, and a judge for the Pulitzer Prize in history. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1994 and the American Philosophical Society in 2004.