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Columbia University President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik testifies before the House Education and Workforce Committee on “Columbia University's Response to Anti-Semitism,” at the Capitol Building in Washington, U.S., April 17, 2024.
Ken Cedeno | Reuters
Columbia University's president announced her resignation on Wednesday after just over a year in the job, following months of criticism over protests on the Manhattan campus over the war in Gaza.
Nemat “Minouche” Shafik has been criticized by anti-war protesters as well as by House Republicans, but for different reasons.
In a message “We have made progress in a number of important areas,” Shafik told the Columbia University community as president.
“However, this was also a time of turmoil where it was difficult to overcome the differing views in our community,” she said. “This period greatly affected my family, as well as others in our community.”
Shafik, an economist who became president of the Ivy League university in July 2023, twice asked the New York City Police Department to clear protest camps this spring in what protesters said was an act of solidarity with Palestinians.
After the first camp on the Manhattan campus Approved A second tree has grown. Protesters Take over Hamilton Hall The New York Police Department evacuated the site and the camp at the university's request.
In April, Shafiq appeared before a House of Representatives committee. Where I faced questions On her handling of anti-Semitism on campus.
Shafiq wrote in the letter that the resignation takes effect as of Wednesday.
“Over the summer, I was able to reflect and decide that my transition at this point would enable Colombia to meet the challenges that lie ahead,” Shafik wrote. “I am announcing this now so that new leadership can be in place before the new semester begins.”
The Columbia University Board of Trustees said in a statement that it “accepts with regret Minouche Shafik's decision to step down as president.”
Katrina Armstrong has been appointed interim president of the university. She is the CEO of Columbia University Irving Medical Center and leads Columbia University’s health and biomedical sciences campus.
“With optimism and determination, let us move forward together, seizing the opportunity to renew our vision and strengthen our community,” Armstrong wrote in a letter upon his appointment as interim president.
Student protest group Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine Welcome the resignation In an article on the X website, Shafiq called for his resignation.
“After months of chanting ‘Minouche Shafik you can’t hide,’ the memo finally got through,” the group said. “And to be clear, any future president who doesn’t heed the overwhelming demands of Columbia University students to divest will end up exactly like President Shafik.”
Protests erupted on college campuses across the United States in the wake of Hamas's October 7 terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians, and Israel's subsequent war against Hamas in Gaza that killed tens of thousands of people there.
Several protest groups have called for their schools to be closed. get rid of From financial support to Israel, including support provided in the Colombian demonstrations.
In the letter announcing her resignation, Shafik wrote that she adheres to values she said are dear to her, which she said are Colombian values, which include freedom of expression, openness to new ideas and “zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind.”
“Even with the tension, division, and politicization that has disrupted our campus over the past year, our mission and core values remain and will continue to guide us as we face the challenges ahead,” Shafik wrote.
“I have tried to follow a path that respects academic principles and treats everyone with fairness and compassion. It has been deeply hurtful — for the community, for me as president, and personally — to find myself, my colleagues, and my students the subject of threats and abuse,” she wrote.
Some university presidents have come under attack from Republican lawmakers who have claimed that campus demonstrations are anti-Semitic.
University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill Resigned in December After coming under fire from the White House, lawmakers and others after he appeared to dodge a question at a congressional hearing about anti-Semitism on campus.
Harvard University President Claudine Gay, He resigned after about a month.In early January.
Republican U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, who celebrated the previous resignations, Issue a statement Wednesday night she said, “Three down, lots to go.”
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