Columbia University President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik has resigned from her post effective immediately, becoming the third Ivy League university president to leave her job, after months of criticism over her handling of on-campus protests against the war in Gaza.
Students set up a pro-Palestinian encampment to protest the war and called for the school to divest from corporations supporting Israel on April 17.
What followed was a month of chaos and violence between police and protesters, as one encampment was taken down and a second one popped up. While all protest encampments were disbanded by June 2, critics argued that Shafik hadn’t done enough to curb anti-Semitism and broader disruption to the university during that time.
In an Aug. 14 statement, Shafik said her decision to step down had come amid “a period of turmoil,” which she said has taken its toll on her loved ones.
“This period has taken a considerable toll on my family, as it has for others in our community,” she said. “Over the summer, I have been able to reflect and have decided that my moving on at this point would best enable Columbia to traverse the challenges ahead.”
The university’s website lists Katrina Armstrong as interim president. She is the university’s executive vice president for health and biomedical sciences, having led Columbia’s Irving Medical Center since 2022.
It hasn’t been announced when a new president might be appointed or who might be in the running to replace the outgoing Shafik.
New President for Next Term
Shafik had held the job for 13 months. According to her statement, she will be moving on to a new job with the UK’s foreign secretary.“In terms of next steps, I am honored to have been asked by the UK’s Foreign Secretary to chair a review of the government’s approach to international development and how to improve capability,” she said.
“I am very pleased and appreciative that this will afford me the opportunity to return to work on fighting global poverty and promoting sustainable development, areas of lifelong interest to me.”
Shafik previously led the London School of Economics and held roles at the World Bank, the UK’s Department for International Development, and the Bank of England.
A new term is due to start on Sept. 3, and she said the timing of her announcement will ensure that a new leader could be in place before students return.
“I have informed the Board of Trustees, and I would like to express my immense appreciation to them for their support,” Shafik said in the statement.
“I am committed to working with the Interim President to ensure an orderly transition.”
Pressure Mounts on University Leadership
Congress has called in several university leaders over the past year to answer questions about concerns of anti-Semitism on campus. Earlier this year, Claudine Gay from Harvard and Liz Magill from the University of Pennsylvania resigned because of pressures involving Gaza war protests.Three deans at Columbia University also resigned on Aug. 8 after exchanging texts disparaging Jews during an event exploring anti-Semitism. University officials said in July that the administrators in question were going on leave, pending an investigation.
Protests swept across college campuses in the United States and around the world after the Hamas terrorist group attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, massacring 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking 250 more as hostages. Israel responded with a military campaign to neutralize Hamas’s military capabilities in Gaza that were responsible for the attack.
According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza, about 40,000 Gazans have been killed since the fighting began. The ministry doesn’t distinguish between combatants and noncombatants in its death counts.
