Columbia University Minouche Shafik Quits amid Backlash over Anti-Israel Protests

The embattled president of Columbia University, Minouche Shafik, has just quit amid mounting pressure over her handling of anti-Israel protests at the prestigious New York college.

Shafik announced her decision Wednesday in a letter addressed to the Columbia community.

Her resignation is effective immediately.

She stands down after facing a mounting backlash over her response to the anti-Israel protests and encampments that overtook Columbiaโ€™s campus in the spring.

The protests led to the cancelation of classes as well as the schoolโ€™s main commencement ceremony in May.

Several of the collegeโ€™s prominent donors also pulled funding from the school.

โ€œI write with sadness to tell you that I am stepping down as president of Columbia University effective August 14, 2024,โ€ she wrote.

โ€œI have had the honor and privilege to lead this incredible institution, and I believe thatโ€”working togetherโ€”we have made progress in a number of important areas.

โ€œHowever, it has also been a period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community.

โ€œThis period has taken a considerable toll on my family, as it has for others in our community.

โ€œOver 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.

โ€œI am making this announcement now so that new leadership can be in place before the new term begins.โ€

While accepting Shafikโ€™s resignation, the Board of Trustees announced Katrina Armstrong, chief executive officer of the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, will serve as the interim president.

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โ€œDuring my inauguration, I spoke of Columbia as an exemplar of a great 21st-century university committed to educating leaders and citizens, generating knowledge and ideas to solve problems, and engaging at the local and global level to deliver real impact in improving peopleโ€™s lives,โ€ Shafik said.

โ€œAs president, I have been proud to witness Columbia making so many contributions to delivering that vital mission.

โ€œI also spoke about the values and principles which are dear to me and, I know, to the Columbia community as well: academic freedom and free speech; openness to ideas; and zero tolerance for discrimination of any kindโ€”including gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, or ethnicity.

โ€œThis mission, and the values and principles underpinning it, constitute our North Star.

โ€œEven as tension, division, and politicization have disrupted our campus over the last year, our core mission and values endure and will continue to guide us in meeting the challenges ahead.โ€

โ€œI have tried to navigate a path that upholds academic principles and treats everyone with fairness and compassion,โ€ she added.

โ€œIt has been distressingโ€”for the community, for me as president, and on a personal levelโ€”to find myself, colleagues, and students the subject of threats and abuse.

โ€œAs President Lincoln said, โ€˜A house divided against itself cannot standโ€™โ€”we must do all we can to resist the forces of polarization in our community.

โ€œI remain optimistic that differences can be overcome through the honest exchange of views, truly listening, andโ€”alwaysโ€”by treating each other with dignity and respect.

โ€œAgain, Columbiaโ€™s core mission to create and acquire knowledge, with our values as foundation, will lead us there.โ€

Shafik had been accused by Jewish students of allowing anti-Israel radicals to run amok on her campus with little intervention or discipline.

In May, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) demanded that Shafik resign if she couldnโ€™t stand up to the agitators.

Johnson blasted Shafikโ€™s leadership as โ€œvery weakโ€ and โ€œinept.โ€

Shafik testified before Congress in April about allegations of antisemitism on campus.

Her testimony was regarded as dismissive of the concerns of Jewish students.

She was accused of turning a blind eye to the anti-Jewish sentiment at Columbia while refusing to engage with their student groups.

House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) accused Shafik, at the time of attempting to โ€œcover-upโ€ for a โ€œpro-terroristโ€ professor who had celebrated the Oct. 7 attacks.

Stefanik also called for Shafikโ€™s removal after a mob of anti-Israel agitators took over an academic building.

The agitators held workers hostage, made demands to the university, and barricaded the building.

Shafik eventually caved and called the police for help.

However, critics accused her of dragging her feet while chaos ran rampant under her watch.

In her letter to the Columbia community, Armstrong wrote:

โ€œI am deeply honored to be called to serve as interim president of our beloved institutionโ€ฆ

โ€œChallenging times present both the opportunity and the responsibility for serious leadership to emerge from every group and individual within a community.

โ€œThis is such a time at Columbia,โ€ she said.

โ€œAs I step into this role, I am acutely aware of the trials the University has faced over the past year.

โ€œWe should neither understate their significance nor allow them to define who we are and what we will become.

โ€œThe familiar excitement and promise of a new academic year are informed this year by the presence of change and continuing concerns, but also by the immense opportunity to look forward, to join together for the laudable mission we are here to serve and to become our best selves individually and institutionally.

โ€œNever has it been more important to train leaders capable of elevating society and addressing the complexity of modern life.

โ€œColumbia University has a long history of meeting the moment, and I have faith that we will do so once again.โ€

โ€œMuch of this work will fall to the Columbia faculty,โ€ she added.

โ€œYou are the ultimate keepers of the institutionโ€™s values and the stewards of its long and proud history.

โ€œThe habit of critical thinking and humility that gives birth to tolerance of contrary points of view is the most essential lesson taught in Columbiaโ€™s classrooms and the intellectual common ground that unifies the many scholarly pursuits found across our campuses.โ€

As for Sharikโ€™s future plans, she wrote that she has been asked by the U.K.โ€™s Foreign Secretary to chair a review of the governmentโ€™s approach โ€œto international development and how to improve capability.โ€

โ€œI 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,โ€ her letter said.

Shafik served as president of the Ivy League university for one year before stepping down.

She joins three other Ivy League university presidents who resigned in light of the anti-Israel campus unrest after facing allegations of mishandled antisemitism.

University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill resigned on December 9, 2023.

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Harvard University President Claudine Gay stepped down on January 2, 2024.

Most recently, Cornell University President Martha Pollack โ€œannounced she would retireโ€ on June 30, 2024.

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