Harvard University announced Sunday that noted historian Drew Gilpin Faust is its new president. She is the first female to hold the post. Faust, a specialist in 19th century America, taught from 1975 to 2001 at the University of Pennsylvania. Since 2001 she has been the dean of Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Faust has also been a council member and vice president of the Professional Division of the American Historical Association.

Much of the information for this post was gleaned from the Harvard Crimson. Most of the February 9, 2007 edition is devoted to her appointment.

This post first appeared on AHA Today.