Anika Begay
Columbia University President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik testifies during a House Education and Labor Committee hearing on “Columbia University’s Response to Anti-Semitism,” on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 17, 2024.
Ken Cedeno | Reuters
Columbia University’s president announced Wednesday she was stepping down after just over a year in the role, following months of criticism over protests on her Manhattan campus over the war in Gaza.
Nemat “Minouche” Shafik had been criticized by both anti-war protesters and House Republicans in Congress, but for different reasons.
In a letter to the Columbia community, Shafik said that during his tenure as president, “we have made progress in several important areas.”
“However, it has also been a time of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome the differing opinions in our community,” she said. “This period has had a significant impact on my family, as well as others in our community.”
Shafik, an economist who became president of the Ivy League school in July 2023, has twice called on the New York City Police Department to clear out protester encampments, in what protesters have called an act of solidarity with Palestinians.
After the first encampment on the Manhattan campus was cleared, a second encampment sprang up. Protesters took over Hamilton Hall, and the New York City Police Department cleared it and the encampment at the university’s request.
In April, Shafik appeared before a House committee, where she was questioned about her handling of anti-Semitism on campus.
The resignation will be effective from Wednesday, Shafik wrote in the letter.
“Over the summer, I have reflected and decided that my transition at this point would best position Columbia to navigate the challenges ahead,” Shafik wrote. “I am making this announcement now so that new leadership can be in place before the start of the new term.”
Columbia’s Board of Trustees said in a statement that it “regretfully accepts Minouche Shafik’s decision to step down as president of the University.”
Katrina Armstrong has been named interim president. She is CEO of Columbia University Irving Medical Center and heads Columbia’s biomedical and health sciences campus.
“With optimism and determination, we move forward together, embracing the opportunity to renew our vision and strengthen our community,” Armstrong wrote in a letter announcing his appointment as interim president.
Student protest group Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine on X welcomed the resignation. It had called for Shafik to resign.
“After months of chants of ‘Minouche Shafik you can’t hide,’ she finally got the memo,” the group said. “To be clear, any future president who doesn’t heed the overwhelming call for divestment from Columbia’s student body will end up exactly like President Shafik.”
