Although Helen Giles-Gee recently made history and news as the first African-American and first female president of the University of the Sciences, the nation’s first college of pharmacy, she downplayed her appointment. According to a story on NewsWorks, Giles-Gee said it’s been mostly the media that’s made a huge fuss about her selection, not her colleagues or students.

“Hopefully this is something that should happen over and over again,” Giles-Gee said. “It’s just a person being selected because of experience and qualifications and an ability to do the job.”

Giles-Gee, who was officially inaugurated as president in April, said that part of her role is to continue to distinguish the University of Sciences from other health and science powerhouses in Philadelphia. Giles-Gee, who has a liberal arts background and training in scientific thought, said she believes the combination of these skills will be key to achieving her goals for the university.

Giles-Gee earned a PhD in measurement, evaluations and techniques of experimental research from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, she is also a former president of Keene State College in New Hampshire, and she worked as provost at Rowan University in New Jersey.

For many black people, Giles-Gee’s accomplishments may trigger feelings of ethnic pride. Click here to read more about how these feelings may improve black teenagers’ mental health.