CNN
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Columbia University President Minuch Shafik is stepping down, months after protests over the Israel-Hamas war gripped campus, according to a letter Shafik sent to the Columbia community, obtained by CNN and confirmed by a university spokeswoman.
Shafiq, an Egyptian-born economist, former top official at the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Bank of England, and former head of the London School of Economics, faced pressure for his opposition to the war between the Columbia campus camps. Israel and Hamas.
In his letter Wednesday, Shafiq cited progress during his tenure, but said it has also been a “tumultuous period in which it has been difficult to overcome differing views across our community.”
“This period has taken a significant toll on my family, as it has on others in our community,” Shafiq said in the letter. “During the summer, I was able to think and decided that my move at this point would help me overcome the challenges ahead of Colombia.”
“I tried to follow the path of upholding the principles of education and treating everyone with fairness and compassion. The fact that I, colleagues and students have been subjected to threats and abuse is distressing to the community, as president, and to me on a personal level,” Shafiq said.
The Ivy League named Katrina Armstrong as interim president University website.
Shafiq has come under fire for his handling of campus protests against the Israel-Hamas war. Ahead of the university-wide commencement ceremony on May 15, Shafiq enlisted a group of academic leaders to hold talks with representatives of the “Gaza Unity Camp” on campus. However, they did not come to a resolution that would have students leave the camp on the university lawn, where Columbia commencement ceremonies are traditionally held, Shafiq announced in a statement on April 29.
After the talks broke down, students and those unaffiliated with Columbia barricaded themselves inside Hamilton Hall, a major academic building on campus. This prompted Shafiq to request the assistance of the New York Police Department on April 30 to remove protesters occupying the building in addition to the camp.
In all, the NYPD said they arrested about 300 protesters that night in Columbia and neighboring City College. “To maintain order and ensure that the camps are not set up again, the NYPD must remain on campus until May 17,” Shafiq asked.
Shafiq said in a May 1 letter that the “dramatic increase” in Hamilton Hall “pushed the university to the brink.”
“[S]Students and outside activists breaking down Hamilton Hall doors, abusing our public safety officers and maintenance staff, and damaging property are acts of vandalism, not political speech,” he said. “I know I speak for many members of our community that this turn of events fills me with deep sadness. . I’m sorry we got to this point.”
The arrests came a week after Shafiq initially authorized the NYPD to arrest more than 100 protesters on criminal trespass charges, a day after the camp opened on April 17.
Later that day, Shabig testified before the House Education Committee about the university’s handling of antisemitism. Shafiq told lawmakers he condemned several professors’ statements in support of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, which resulted in the dismissal of at least one professor, Mohamed Abdu, at the end of the semester.
In an attempt to avoid the fate of two other Ivy League presidents at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania who resigned after a disastrous December congressional hearing on antisemitism, Shafiq reportedly spent months preparing for his testimony. He also told lawmakers that calls for the genocide of Jews violated the university’s code of conduct, which former presidents of Harvard and UPenn did not.
However, many lawmakers found his answers inadequate and pressed him on why more decisive and timely action had not been taken against professors and students allegedly involved in anti-Semitic activities.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
