Editorial | On her own merits

Penn has become a breeding ground for presidents this year. From Wharton Dean Patrick Harker's move to the University of Delaware to Medical School professor Stephen Emerson, who will take on Haverford's presidency, the University should be proud to claim these fine leaders as its own.

The most nationally recognized appointment was that of former Penn professor and alumna Drew Gilpin Faust as the next president of Harvard. Faust received her master's and doctoral degrees in American Civilization from Penn in 1971 and 1975, respectively. She then taught in the History department from 1975 to 2000.

Faust's appointment as the first female president of Harvard is historic, but it has also attracted naysayers who claim she was only chosen to make a statement.

As the dean of Harvard's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Faust has proven herself time and again as a leader. Penn History professor Steven Hahn, a former colleague of Faust's, noted that she turned Radcliffe into "one of the major intellectual centers in the United States."

In addition, Faust has been at Harvard since 2001, and her firsthand understanding of the university's recent ups and downs can only help her repair the relationship between faculty and the administration.

To say that Faust was selected because she is a woman is to ignore her accomplishments and the positive response from her peers at Harvard. For a school that needs as much internal help as Harvard - from guiding its physical expansion to settling deep-seated academic tensions between disciplines - it is illogical to think that they would appoint someone unqualified to do the job.

Faust was on a short list that included candidates of all backgrounds, and her selection is a testament to her abilities, not her gender.

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