Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A, has selected its first female president, historian Drew Gilpin Faust, 59. Dr. Faust becomes the 28th president of the oldest institute of higher education which was founded in 1636.

The previous president, Lawrence Summers, resigned last year after a controversial five-year term. He provoked outrage when he said women had less, "intrinsic aptitude" than men for science.

Dr. Faust, the dean of Harvard's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, will begin her duties as the university's president on July 1.

Her appointment makes Harvard the fourth of America's eight prestigious Ivy League universities to have women presidents.