CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 12 (UPI) -- By tabbing Drew Gilpin Faust as its first female president in its illustrious history, Massachusetts' Harvard University has offered others inspiration.
Speaking Sunday at the university, Faust said how her appointment as the college's 28th president and first female and non-alumnae head has inspired countless young women, USA Today said.
"Young women have come up to me and said, 'This is really an inspiration.' So, I think it would be wrong not to acknowledge that this has tremendous symbolic importance," Faust said.
While Faust's appointment may mark the fourth Ivy League school to place a woman at its helm, being tabbed to lead the oldest and wealthiest U.S. university remains a major accomplishment.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Nancy Hopkins said that by tabbing Faust, Harvard will ultimately help benefit the entire school and young women everywhere.
"Students because she will emphasize rigorous education. Faculty because she is a great scholar, and perhaps young women in both categories, who will see that barriers are falling and who will aim higher as a result," she told USA Today.
