Columbia University President Resigns Following ‘Turmoil’ of Israel-Hamas War Protests
Credit: Image Credit: Drew Angerer / AFP / Getty Images- Columbia University President Minouche Shafik announced her resignation effective Aug. 14.
- Shafik’s resignation comes after months of criticism over her handling of on-campus pro-Palestinian protests.
- Shafik noted that her short tenure at Columbia has “been a period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community.”
Columbia University President Minouche Shafik is stepping down after months of criticism over her handling of Israel-Hamas war protests on campus.
Shafik took off in July 2023. Her resignation was effective Aug. 14.
In a letter to the Columbia community announcing her resignation, Shafik said that her 13-month tenure had “been a period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community.”
“This period has taken a considerable toll on my family, as it has for others in our community,” Shafik wrote. “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. I am making this announcement now so that new leadership can be in place before the new term begins.”
Shafik has faced criticism over her handling of pro-Palestenian student demonstrations on campus last year, as well as scrutiny over antisemitism on campus. She authorized the New York Police Department to clear out the on-campus encampment, leading to the arrests of more than 100 protesters, although many of those charges have since been dropped.
Shafik is the latest Ivy League president to step down in the wake of protests and strife sparked by the Israel-Hamas war.
University of Pennsylvania President M. Elizabeth Magill resigned Dec. 9, 2023 after donor, alum, and student uproar over her handling of antisemitism on the Ivy League institution’s campus.
Harvard President Claudine Gay also resigned over the school’s handling of on-campus protests. Gay also faced allegations that she plagiarized other academics.
Gay and Magill on Dec. 5, 2023 appeared before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce to address antisemitism on campus amid the Israel-Hamas war. Shafik’s appearance before that committee on April 17 came on the same day that student protesters established encampments at the New York City campus.
Shafik has faced calls from all sides to resign in the wake of the on-campus turmoil: Both pro-Palestinian student groups and Republican lawmakers have called on her to step down, the Columbia Daily Spectator reported.
Shafik’s abrupt resignation comes just weeks before Columbia is set to begin its new term, and she said that she was stepping down to make sure new leadership can be in place before students arrive on campus.
Columbia University Irving Medical Center CEO Katrina Armstrong was named interim president of the school.
“As I step into this role, I am acutely aware of the trials the University has faced over the past year,” Armstrong wrote in a message to the Columbia community. “We should neither understate their significance, nor allow them to define who we are and what we will become.”