Columbia University President Minouche Shafik resigns months after Israel-Hamas war protests roiled campus
The president of Columbia University announced her resignation Wednesday after a little more than a year on the job, following months of criticism over protests on the Manhattan campus over the war in Gaza.
The president of Columbia University announced her resignation Wednesday after a little more than a year on the job, following months of criticism over protests on the Manhattan campus over the war in Gaza.
Nemat “Minouche” Shafik had been criticized by anti-war protesters and by House Republicans in Congress, but for different reasons.
In a letter to the Columbia community, Shafik said that while she was president "we have made progress in a number of important areas."
"However, it has also been a period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community," she said. "This period has taken a considerable toll on my family, as it has for others in our community."
NYPD officers in riot gear enter a building at Columbia University on April 30.Kena Betancur / AFP - Getty Images fileShafik, an economist who became president of the Ivy League school in July 2023, asked the New York Police Department twice to clear encampments set up this spring by protesters in what demonstrators said was an act of solidarity with Palestinians.After the first encampment on the Manhattan campus was cleared, a second one grew. Protesters took control of Hamilton Hall, and the NYPD cleared it and the encampment at the request of the university. In May, some students gathered outside Shafik’s house to protest and scream, typically a ritual held during finals.
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