AFTER 108 YEARS, THE HARVARD CLUB OF BOSTON ELECTS ITS FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT

Karen Van Winkle

In an unforeseen sign of change, members of the 108-year-old alumni group on Monday elected Karen Van Winkle its first female president.

It was way back in 2007 that Harvard University trustees deemed a woman good enough to run the world’s greatest institution of learning.

It just shows that change can be slow, even for those who are smart enough to get into Harvard. The university now awards about half of its degrees to female students, yet at the local club men outnumber women 3 to 1.

Van Winkle’s priority during her three-year term as president is to make the club more welcoming to women and families. That means upgrading the women’s locker room, designing kid-friendly programs, and maybe even offer baby-sitting...lol.

“If we’re going to sustain the club and we’re going to add to our membership, we have to reflect the Harvard of today,” said Van Winkle over lunch recently at one of the club’s dining rooms on the 38th floor of One Federal Street.

So as exclusive as Harvard sounds, the club actually wants to be inclusive. According to AP, Membership, which hovers at a little over 5,000, is down from nearly 8,000 three decades ago. (The Harvard Club of New York City has more than 20,000 members.)

Congratulations Van Winkle!

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