Drew Gilpin Faust facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Drew Gilpin Faust
Faust at the World Economic Forum in 2013
28th President of Harvard University
In office July 1, 2007 – July 1, 2018
Preceded by	Lawrence Summers Derek Bok (acting)
Succeeded by	Lawrence Bacow
Personal details
Born	Catharine Drew Gilpin (1947-09-18) September 18, 1947 (age 77) New York City, U.S.
Spouse	Charles E. Rosenberg
Children	2
Education	Bryn Mawr College (BA) University of Pennsylvania (MA, PhD)
Scientific career
Institutions	University of Pennsylvania Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study Harvard University
Thesis	A Sacred Circle: The Social Role of the Intellectual in the Old South, 1840–1860 (1975)
Doctoral advisor	Charles E. Rosenberg

Catharine Drew Gilpin Faust (born September 18, 1947) is a famous American historian. She made history as the 28th president of Harvard University, becoming the first woman to hold this important job. She was also the first Harvard president since 1672 who didn't get her college degree from Harvard. Drew Gilpin Faust also helped start the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and was its first leader. Forbes magazine has listed her as one of the world's most powerful women.

Early Life and Education

Drew Gilpin Faust was born in New York City. She grew up in Clarke County, Virginia. Her father was a horse breeder. Her great-grandfather, Lawrence Tyson, was a U.S. senator in the 1920s. She is also related to Jonathan Edwards, who was the third president of Princeton University.

Drew graduated from Concord Academy in 1964. She then went to Bryn Mawr College. In 1968, she earned her first degree in history. Later, she studied at the University of Pennsylvania. She earned her master's degree in 1971 and her Ph.D. in 1975. Her Ph.D. paper was about the role of thinkers in the American South before the Civil War.

Career Highlights

In 1975, Drew Gilpin Faust started teaching at the University of Pennsylvania. She became an expert in the history of the American South. This included the time before the Civil War and during the war itself. She became a well-known history professor there.

Books and Awards

Faust has written six books. One of her famous books is Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War (1996). This book won two major awards in 1997. Another important book is This Republic of Suffering (2008). It explored how Americans understood death during the Civil War. This book was considered for the Pulitzer Prize.

Leading the Radcliffe Institute

In 2001, Faust became the first leader of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. This institute was created after Radcliffe College joined with Harvard University.

Becoming Harvard's President

On February 8, 2007, Drew Gilpin Faust was chosen to be the next president of Harvard University. Her appointment was made official a few days later. She was the first woman ever to be the president of Harvard. She took over from Lawrence Summers. Derek Bok was an interim president before her.

Preparations for the inauguration of Faust

During a press conference, Faust said she hoped her appointment would show new opportunities. She also famously said, "I'm not the woman president of Harvard, I'm the president of Harvard." On October 12, 2007, she gave her official speech. She spoke about how a university helps people learn for a lifetime.

Making College More Affordable

One of Faust's first big actions was to increase financial aid at Harvard College. On December 10, 2007, she announced a new policy. It helped middle-class and upper-middle-class families. For families earning between $100,000 and $180,000, parents only had to pay 10 percent of their income. Loans were replaced with grants, which do not need to be paid back.

Faust said that education helps American democracy work. She believed everyone should have access to it. This new policy built on older programs that helped lower-income families. Other universities like Stanford and Yale later adopted similar policies.

Other Important Work

Faust also spoke to the U.S. Congress. She asked for more money for science research. She also wanted to support new professors. She worked to make the arts a bigger part of Harvard life. Faust also aimed to make Harvard more connected globally. She was a strong supporter of sustainability. She set a goal to reduce Harvard's greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2016.

Campus Changes and Initiatives

During her time, Faust supported organic lawn management on campus. This included Harvard Yard and the president's house. This change reduced water use by 30%. It also made Harvard Yard greener and improved the campus orchard.

In 2010, Faust worked with the president of Stanford University. They wrote an article supporting the DREAM Act. This law would have helped young undocumented immigrants.

In 2011, Faust signed an agreement to bring the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) program back to Harvard. It had been gone for almost 40 years. This happened after the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" law was changed.

In 2016, Harvard started looking into its history with slavery. Faust publicly said the school was "directly involved in America's system of racial bondage." A special plaque was put on campus to honor enslaved people. Her successor, Lawrence Bacow, continued this important work.

Faust retired as Harvard's president in June 2018. She then joined the board of Goldman Sachs, a big financial company. She still teaches history at Harvard.

Personal Life

Drew Gilpin Faust is married to Charles E. Rosenberg. He is also a historian at Harvard. They have a daughter named Jessica Rosenberg. Jessica works for The New Yorker magazine. Faust also has a stepdaughter, Leah Rosenberg.

Honors and Awards

Drew Gilpin Faust has received many honors and awards:

• She was chosen as a member of the "Time 100" list in 2007.
• She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
• She has received honorary doctorates from several universities. These include Bowdoin College, the University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, and Princeton University.
• Forbes magazine has often included her in their list of "100 Most Powerful Women." In 2014, she was ranked #33.
• In 2011, the National Endowment for the Humanities chose Faust for the Jefferson Lecture. This is a very high honor for people in the humanities. Her lecture was about being a Civil War historian.
• In 2018, Faust received the John W. Kluge Prize from the Library of Congress.
• She received the Newberry Library Award in 2024.

Awards for Her Books

• She won the 2009 Bancroft Prize for her book This Republic of Suffering.
• She also won the 2008 American History Book Prize for the same book.
• Her essay "Dread Void of Uncertainty" was named one of the best history essays of 2005.
• She received the Francis Parkman Prize in 1997 for Mothers of Invention.

Selected Works

• Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury (2023) - This is a book about her own life.
• This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War (2008) - This book was named one of the "10 Best Books of 2008" by the New York Times Book Review.
• Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War (1996)
• Southern Stories: Slaveholders in Peace and War (1992)
• 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)
• A Sacred Circle: The Dilemma of the Intellectual in the Old South, 1840–1860 (1977)

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Drew Gilpin Faust para niños