Columbia president resigns unexpectedly

Columbia University President Minouche Shafik resigned abruptly Wednesday night after months of pressure from Congress and campus constituents over her handling of pro-Palestinian student protests.

Shafik spent a little more than a year in the role, a tenure fraught with tension over how she navigated campus demonstrations related to the war between Israel and Hamas that began last fall. The protests at Columbia—which set off a wave of similar demonstrations at colleges across the nation—culminated in the construction of an encampment in the center of campus and the occupation of an administrative building for nearly two weeks, resulting in the arrest of more than 100 protesters in April.

Shafik faced criticism from some students and faculty for the arrests, and from Congress for how long it took her to act.

She was one of seven university presidents who testified in recent months before the House Education and Workforce Committee over concerns about antisemitism on college campuses. Now she is the third of those seven to step down, joining former Harvard University President Claudine Gay and University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill, both of whom resigned after a widely panned hearing performance. Gay and Magill came under fire for their unwillingness to condemn hypothetical calls for a genocide of Jewish students on their respective campuses, offering equivocating answers.

The Resignation

In a resignation letter to the Columbia community posted online, Shafik wrote that she “believe[d] … we have made progress in a number of important areas” but also that “it has been a period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community.” She added that “this period has taken a considerable toll on my family.”

“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 wrote.

Columbia has already appointed Dr. Katrina Armstrong, an administrator and professor, as interim president in the wake of Shafik’s resignation, according to the university website.

Shafik said that she has been asked by the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary to take on an international development role, an area in which Shafik, who previously worked for the Bank of England and served as president of the London School of Economics, has past experience.

Immediate Reactions

New York representative Elise Stefanik, the Republican inquisitor who emerged as a key voice in the Congressional hearings, previously celebrated the resignations of Gay and Magill. On Wednesday night, she took another online victory lap: “THREE DOWN, so many to go,” Stefanik posted on social media.

Stefanik added, “Shafik’s failed presidency was untenable and it was only a matter of time before her forced resignation” and accused Shafik of “failing to protect Jewish students.”

Fellow Republican representative Virginia Foxx, of North Carolina, also released a statement accusing Shafik of allowing “a disturbing wave of antisemitic harassment, discrimination, and disorder” under her leadership, failing to maintain a safe learning environment for all students, and allowing “flagrant violations of the law and the university rules” to go unpunished.

Some students at Columbia also celebrated Shafik’s exit.

“After months of chanting ‘Minouche Shafik you can’t hide’ she finally got the memo. To be clear, any future president who does not pay heed to the Columbia student body’s overwhelming demand for divestment [from Israel] will end up exactly as President Shafik did,” Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, a group active in campus protests, posted on social media.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) also released a statement.

“Marked by chaos and cowardice, Minouche Shafik’s tenure was a disaster for freedom of expression. Columbia University now has an opportunity to select a leader who will recommit the institution to protecting free speech and academic freedom,” the free speech advocacy group posted on social media. “Students, faculty, trustees, and alumni should demand no less.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.