Jewish lawyer Lawrence Bacow appointed as new president of Harvard

Harvard University has named Lawrence S Bacow, whose mother was a survivor of Auschwitz and whose father’s family fled the pogroms of eastern Europe, as its president.

Mr Bacow, 66, was the president of neighbouring Tufts University for a decade, where he had a mezuzah on the front of the president’s residence.

The lawyer and economist, whose academic focus was environmental policy, said his family’s journey highlighted the power of education in social mobility.

Mr Bacow said after Sunday’s announcement: “My parents came to this country with literally nothing. I wouldn’t be here if this country was not open to people like my parents at the time.

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