Columbia University President Nemat (Minoche) Shafiq. | Photo Credit: AP
Columbia University President Minouche Shafiq resigned on Wednesday (August 15, 2024) after a brief, tumultuous tenure that saw the head of the prestigious New York university face intense scrutiny over her handling of protests and campus divisions. Israel–Hamas War,
The Ivy League school in upper Manhattan has been in turmoil this year from student protests that saw police officers carrying zip ties and riot shields enter a building that was already on lockdown. Occupied by pro-Palestinian protestersSimilar protests occurred on college campuses across the country, many of which resulted in violent clashes with police and thousands of people being arrested.
The announcement comes just days after the school confirmed that three deans had resigned after officials said they exchanged offensive messages during campus discussions about Jewish life and anti-Semitism.
Explanation | Why are students protesting on various campuses across America?
Ms. Shafiq was among university leaders summoned for questioning before Congress earlier this year. She was heavily criticized by Republicans who accused her of not doing enough to combat anti-Semitism on Columbia’s campus.
Ms. Shafiq, who was appointed to the position in January last year, announced her resignation in a letter emailed to the university community just weeks before classes begin on September 3, 2024. The university began restricting access to campus to people with Columbia IDs and registered guests on Monday (August 12, 2024), saying it wanted to prevent “potential disruptions” as the new semester approaches.
In her letter, Ms. Shafiq praised “progress in many important areas” but lamented that during her tenure “differing views within our community have been difficult to overcome.”
“This period has taken a significant toll on my family, as it has on many others in the community,” she wrote. “Over the summer, I have been able to reflect on this and have decided that my stepping down at this time will best enable Columbia to meet the challenges ahead.”
Meanwhile, Columbia’s board of trustees announced that Katrina Armstrong, CEO of Columbia University Irving Medical Center, will serve as interim president.
“Challenging times present both an opportunity and responsibility for serious leadership to emerge from every group and individual within the community,” said Armstrong, who is also the university’s executive vice president for health and biomedical sciences. “As I step into this role, I am acutely aware of the trials the university has faced over the past year.”
Pro-Palestinian protesters first set up a tent camp on Columbia’s campus in mid-April, during Ms. Shafiq’s congressional testimony, where she denounced anti-Semitism but was also criticized for her treatment of faculty and students accused of bias.
Also read: After mass arrests at Columbia University, pro-Palestinian protests erupt on US college campuses
The school sent police to remove the tents the next day, but students returned and prompted a wave of similar protests on campuses across the country, with students demanding schools sever financial ties with companies that support Israel and the war.
Eventually, negotiations between the school and protesters stalled, and when the school set a deadline for activists to leave, a group occupied Hamilton Hall.
Even after the protests ended, Columbia decided to cancel its university-wide convocation, and instead hold a series of smaller school-based ceremonies.
The campus remained mostly quiet this summer, but in June an Orthodox news outlet published a series of photos it said were text messages exchanged while administrators were attending a May 31 panel discussion on “Jewish Life on Campus: Past, Present and Future.”
The officials were removed from their positions, with Ms. Shafiq saying in a July 8, 2024, letter to the school community that the messages were unprofessional and “touched on ancient anti-Semitic ideas in a disturbing manner.”
Ms. Shafiq’s critics cheered the end of her tenure, one of the shortest in the school’s history.
House Speaker Johnson said her resignation was “long overdue” and should serve as a warning to other university administrators that “tolerating or protecting anti-Semitism is unacceptable and has consequences.”