NEW YORK: Columbia University president Minouche Shafik resigned Wednesday, nearly four months after the school’s processing of college protests over Israel’s conflict in Gaza drew condemnation from pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian attributes everywhere.
In response to campus protests over Gaza, Shafik becomes the second Ivy League president to step down. She claimed she made the announcement right away so that new management could be in place before the new name, which will start on September 3, when student protesters have pledged to begin demonstrations.
It has been a period of turmoil where it has been challenging to reconcile diverse viewpoints within our society. This phase has taken a significant burden on my family, as it has for people in our community”, Shafik said in a speech.
The university announced Katrina Armstrong, professor of Columbia’s health class, would serve as interim leader.
In protest of Israeli civilian deaths in Gaza, protesters occupied parts of the New York City school in Columbia in April and May, leading to plenty of arrests. Shafik was attacked by the protesters for allowing police to enter the building to end the demonstrations, while pro-Israel activists made her face for not implementing enough crackdown.
The resignation from Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a group responsible for the protests, was welcomed but warned that it should n’t interfere with their efforts to have the university stop investing in Israeli military assets.
Two additional Ivy League leaders have resigned after facing opposition from the Congress. Claudine Gay of Harvard quit a quarter after Liz Magill of the University of Pennsylvania left in December 2023.
Shafik formerly served as the IMF’s assistant managing director and the bank’s lieutenant governor.
