President of Columbia University Nemat Minouche Shafik. Photo: Ken Cedeno/Reuters
Columbia University President Minouche Shafik has announced her resignation, just four months after the university faced heavy criticism over its response to student protests over the war in Gaza. Her decision was the culmination of growing pressure from both sides – both supporters of Israel and Palestinian activists, Reuters reports.
Shafik, who cited the negative impact of the protests on her family, became the third head of an Ivy League university to resign following protests related to the conflict in Gaza. She said she made the decision now to ensure new leadership before the start of the school year on Sept. 3, when protesters plan to renew their actions.
“This has been a period of deep divisiveness in our community that has resulted in difficult consequences for my family, as well as for others at our university,” Shafik said in a statement.
Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Katrina Armstrong, was appointed as the interim president of the university. She noted that she is fully aware of all the challenges the university community has faced over the past year.
In the spring, Columbia University became the epicenter of mass protests that began due to the deaths of civilians in Gaza. Protesters occupied part of the New York campus, leading to hundreds of arrests. Shafiq was criticized both for calling the police to the university grounds to stop the protests, and for not being decisive enough on the part of supporters of Israel.
Columbia University Apartheid Divest, the group behind the protests, welcomed the resignation but stressed that it should not detract from their goal of getting the university to end its investments in companies that support the Israeli military and the occupation of Palestinian territories.
“We hope that the next president will listen to the voice of students and teachers, and not try to please Congress and donors,” said Mahmoud Khalil, one of the leading negotiators with the university’s administration.
