Incoming BU President Melissa Gilliam Will Speak at Harvard Medical School’s Class Day

Melissa L. Gilliam, the incoming president of Boston University, will serve as the Harvard Medical School’s class day speaker next month.

The keynote speech will be a homecoming of sorts for Gilliam, who graduated from HMS in 1993 and served as provost of Ohio State University until the end of 2023. She was the first Black woman to hold the role at Ohio State and will become the 11th president of Boston University when she assumes office on July 1.

Class Day, the first of two days of graduation ceremonies for HMS and the Harvard School of Dental Medicine will be held on May 23. Commencement, the University-wide graduation ceremony, will take place earlier that day in Harvard Yard.

Past speakers include Sanjay Gupta, chief medical correspondent for CNN; Joia Mukherjee, chief medical officer for Partners in Health; and Valerie Montgomery Rice, president of Morehouse School of Medicine.

Gilliam’s mother, Dorothy Butler Gilliam, was the Washington Post’s first Black woman journalist.

Gilliam holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Yale University, a master’s degree in philosophy and politics from the University of Oxford, and a master’s of public health degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Her research centers around the factors that lead to initial and repeat pregnancy in adolescents. Gilliam’s work has been funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the MacArthur Foundation.

From 2005 through 2021, Gilliam worked at the University of Chicago, first as a professor and then as the vice provost for academic leadership, advancement, and diversity.

Gilliam is on the Board of Governors of Argonne National Laboratory. She formerly advised the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Food and Drug Administration.

Correction: April 16, 2024

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Melissa L. Gilliam currently serves as provost of Ohio State University. In fact, Gilliam departed the role at the end of 2023.

—Staff writer Veronica H. Paulus can be reached at veronica.paulus@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @VeronicaHPaulus.

—Staff writer Akshaya Ravi can be reached at akshaya.ravi@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @akshayaravi22.