Columbia University President Minouche Shafik has resigned effective immediately, Fox News Digital has confirmed.
Shafik announced his decision to step down in a letter to the Columbia University community on Wednesday, following repeated calls for him to resign over his response to the anti-Israel protests and encampments that swept across Columbia’s campus in the spring and led to the cancellation of classes and the school’s major graduation ceremony in May.
“It is with sadness that I announce that I will step down as president of Columbia University, effective Aug. 14, 2024. I have had the honor and privilege to lead this great university, and I believe that through collaboration we have made progress in many important areas. But it has also been a tumultuous time, with difficult cross-pollinations across our community,” she said. Written.
“This period has placed an enormous strain on my family, as well as others in our community. After much reflection over the summer, I have decided that my stepping down at this time would best position Columbia University to navigate the challenges ahead. I am making this announcement now so that we can establish new leadership before the start of the new semester.”
Columbia University students file lawsuit against organizers and supporters of anti-Israel campus camp
Minouche Shafik, former president of Columbia University
While accepting Shafiq’s resignation, the board Announced Katrina Armstrong, CEO of Columbia University Irving Medical Center, will serve as interim president.
“At my inauguration, I described Columbia as an example of a great 21st-century university, committed to educating leaders and citizens, generating knowledge and ideas to solve problems, and making a real impact on improving people’s lives at the local and global levels,” Shafik said. “As president, I have been proud to see Columbia make significant contributions to fulfilling its important mission. I also spoke of the values and principles that are dear to me and to the Columbia community: academic freedom and freedom of speech, openness to ideas, and zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind, whether on the basis of sex, race, religion, sexual orientation, national origin or ethnicity. This mission and the values and principles that underpin it are our North Star. While tensions, divisions and politicization have roiled our campus over the past year, our core mission and values endure and will continue to guide us as we face the challenges ahead.”
Three Columbia University administrators resign after text messages contain ‘anti-Semitic’ slurs
“I have striven to uphold academic principles and to steer a path that treats all people fairly and with compassion. It is painful for the community, for me as president, and personally to see myself, my colleagues, and students being subject to threats and abuse. As President Lincoln said, ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand,’ and we must do all we can to resist the forces of polarization in our community. I am optimistic that differences can be overcome through frank exchanges, genuine listening, and always treating one another with dignity and respect. Again, Columbia University’s core mission of creating and acquiring knowledge, anchored in our values, will get us there,” she added.
In April, students at Columbia University occupied Hamilton Hall, an academic building used by the dean, and renamed it “Hind Hall.” (Getty Images/Alex Kent)
Columbia University president grills professors who support terrorism on campus
Shafik had been criticized by Jewish students for allowing anti-Israel extremists to run wild on campus with little intervention or discipline. In April, House Speaker Mike Johnson Demands Shafik’s resignation He said her leadership was “very weak” and “incompetent” if she could not stand up to the agitators.
“President Shafik’s refusal to protect Jewish students and maintain order on campus has made Columbia a center of the violent anti-Semitism that has plagued many American college campuses since Hamas’ brutal attacks on Israel last fall,” Johnson said Wednesday following her resignation, calling it “long overdue.”
“I hope President Shafik’s resignation sets a precedent for university administrators across the country that tolerating or protecting anti-Semites is unacceptable and will have consequences,” he said.
Shafik testified before the House Education and Labor Committee in April about allegations of anti-Semitism on campus. Her testimony was seen as discounting the concerns of Jewish students, who accused Shafik of turning a blind eye to anti-Semitic sentiment at Columbia and refusing to engage with their student group.
“During President Shafik’s tenure, an alarming wave of anti-Semitic harassment, discrimination and unrest has swept across Columbia’s campus. Jewish students, faculty and staff have been taunted, harassed and assaulted simply because of their identity. All students have a right to a safe learning environment, period. Yet flagrant violations of the law and university rules have gone unpunished,” committee chair Rep. Virginia Foxx (R.C.) said Wednesday.
“Columbia’s next leader must take bold action to address the rampant anti-Semitism, support for terrorism and disrespect for university rules on campus,” she added.
Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, chair of the House Republican Conference, accused Shafik at the time of trying to “cover up” a “pro-terrorist” professor who celebrated the October 7 attacks.
Stefanik also called for Shafik’s dismissal after anti-Israel rioters seized university buildings, taking staff hostage, making demands of the university and putting the buildings on lockdown. Shafik eventually caved in and called for police help, but critics accused her of standing on her hands as unrest unfolded under her watch.
Columbia University rabbi tells Jewish students to leave campus, warns school and NYPD ‘cannot guarantee student safety’
Armstrong wrote in a letter to the Columbia community: Written“I am deeply honored to be appointed interim president of our beloved university. Challenging times bring both an opportunity and a responsibility for serious leadership to emerge from all groups and individuals within our community. Columbia is such a time. As I assume this role, I am acutely aware of the challenges the university has faced over the past year, and we should not underestimate their importance or allow them to define who we are and what we become. The familiar excitement and anticipation of a new academic year is shaped this year by the presence of change and continuing concerns, but also by the tremendous opportunity to look forward, to come together in the admirable mission we have here, and to be our best selves, individually and institutionally.
“It has never been more important to prepare leaders who can improve society and meet the complexities of modern life. Columbia has a long history of meeting these challenges, and I am confident we can do so again,” she said.
“Much of this work will fall in the hands of Columbia’s faculty. You are the ultimate guardians of the university’s values and stewards of its long and proud history. Habits of critical thinking and humility that engender tolerance for dissent are the most important lessons taught in Columbia classrooms and the intellectual common ground that unifies the many academic pursuits found across campus.”
Parents warn of ‘nightmare’ situation on Columbia University campus: Jewish students ‘being threatened’
A pro-Palestinian demonstrator holds a flag on the roof of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York, USA. (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
As for his future plans, Sharik wrote that he had been asked by the UK Foreign Secretary to lead a review of the government’s work on “international development and capacity building initiatives”.
“I am excited and grateful for this opportunity to return to my lifelong interest: combating global poverty and promoting sustainable development,” she wrote in the letter.
Shafik stepped down as president of the Ivy League university after one year in the position.
She joins three other Ivy League university presidents who have resigned in the face of allegations that they mishandled anti-Semitism amid anti-Israel campus unrest.
University of Pennsylvania President Liz McGill will step down on December 9, 2023, followed by Harvard University President Claudine Gay on January 2, 2024. Most recently, Cornell University President Martha Pollack will step down on June 30, 2024.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Fox News’ CB Cotton and Alexa Mutebellis contributed to this story.
