Accessibility links

Breaking News

Student Union

Columbia's president resigns after months of turmoil, including Gaza protests

FILE - Columbia University President Minouche Shafik testifies before the House Committee on Education on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 17, 2024.
FILE - Columbia University President Minouche Shafik testifies before the House Committee on Education on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 17, 2024.

Columbia University President Minouche Shafik resigned Wednesday after a brief, tumultuous tenure that saw the head of the prestigious New York university grapple with protests over the Israel-Hamas war and criticism over how the school handled divisions related to the conflict.

The school in upper Manhattan was roiled this year by student protests, culminating in scenes of police officers carrying zip ties and riot shields storming a building that had been occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters. Similar protests swept college campuses nationwide.

In addition to the protests, the school in July removed three deans, who have since resigned, after officials said they exchanged disparaging texts during a campus discussion about Jewish life and antisemitism. Shafik said in a July 8 letter to the school community that the messages were unprofessional and "disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes."

Shafik was also among the university leaders called for questioning before Congress earlier this year. She was heavily criticized by Republicans who accused her of not doing enough to combat concerns about antisemitism on Columbia's campus.

In her letter announcing her resignation, Shafik heralded "progress in a number of important areas" but lamented that her tenure had also been a "period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community." In her statement, she acknowledged the campus protests factored into her decision to resign.

FILE - Students protest in support of Palestinians on the Columbia University campus in New York City, April 24, 2024.
FILE - Students protest in support of Palestinians on the Columbia University campus in New York City, April 24, 2024.

"This period has taken a considerable toll on my family, as it has for others in the community," Shafik wrote. "Over the summer, I have been able to reflect and have decided that my moving on at this point would best enable Columbia to traverse the challenges ahead."

Shafik said she will return to the United Kingdom to lead an effort by the foreign secretary's office reviewing the government's approach to international development and how to improve capability.

"I am very pleased and appreciative that this will afford me the opportunity to return to work on fighting global poverty and promoting sustainable development, areas of lifelong interest to me," she wrote. "It also enables me to return to the House of Lords to reengage with the important legislative agenda put forth by the new UK government."

The Board of Trustees announced that Katrina Armstrong, the CEO of Columbia University Irving Medical Center, agreed to serve as interim president. The board said Armstrong, who is also the executive vice president for the university's Health and Biomedical Sciences, "is the right leader for this moment."

Armstrong said she was "deeply honored" to be leading the university at a "pivotal moment for Columbia."

"Challenging times present both the opportunity and the responsibility for serious leadership to emerge from every group and individual within a community," Armstrong wrote. "This is such a time at Columbia. As I step into this role, I am acutely aware of the trials the University has faced over the past year."

Shafik was named president of the university last year and was the first woman to take on the role, and she was one of several women newly appointed to take the reins at Ivy League institutions.

She had previously led the London School of Economics and before that worked at the World Bank, where she rose through the ranks to become the bank's youngest-ever vice president. Shafik also worked at the United Kingdom's Department for International Development, followed by stints at the International Monetary Fund and the Bank of England.

At the time of Shafik's appointment, Columbia Board of Trustees chair Jonathan Lavine described her as a leader who deeply understood "the academy and the world beyond it."

"What set Minouche apart as a candidate," Lavine had said in a statement, "is her unshakable confidence in the vital role institutions of higher education can and must play in solving the world's most complex problems."

See all News Updates of the Day

San Diego school requires course in climate change 

FILE - San Diego firefighters help Humberto Maciel rescue his dog from his flooded home in Merced, California, Jan. 10, 2023.
FILE - San Diego firefighters help Humberto Maciel rescue his dog from his flooded home in Merced, California, Jan. 10, 2023.

If you want an undergraduate degree from the University of California, San Diego, you’re going to have to take a course in climate change.

The requirement, which affects students who will graduate in 2028, is meant to prepare students for the future, according to a report by ABC News. (October 2024)

‘Study away’ programs in the US can provide enrichment opportunities 

FILE - Students walk on the campus of Boston College, April 29, 2024, in Boston.
FILE - Students walk on the campus of Boston College, April 29, 2024, in Boston.

While studying abroad can expose students to new cultures and experiences, researchers are finding that domestic ‘study away’ programs can be helpful as well.

Some students, including those on an international visa, may not be able to study abroad, but they can travel to other locations in the U.S. for enrichment experiences, Ashley Mowreader writes in Inside Higher Ed. (October 2024)

Fewer students disclose race in applications to top colleges 

FILE - An unidentified person walks past Harvard yard at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, December 7, 2023
FILE - An unidentified person walks past Harvard yard at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, December 7, 2023

FAfter the Supreme Court’s decision to end affirmative action in college admissions last year, fewer students are disclosing their race or ethnicity in applications to top colleges.

Writing in USA Today, Zachary Schermele notes that the data is preliminary, but it could signal a change in the way students are approaching college applications. (October 2024)

Overall college enrollment is up, first-year enrollment down 

FILE - A student delivers packages to the dormitory at DePaul University in Chicago, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024.
FILE - A student delivers packages to the dormitory at DePaul University in Chicago, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024.

For the second year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, college enrollment has climbed in the United States.

But the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center noticed a substantial drop in the number of freshmen, which could be troubling for future enrollment, according to a report in Forbes. (October 2024)

South African universities embrace AI, seeing it as equalizing tool

South African universities embrace AI, seeing it as equalizing tool
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:02:59 0:00

The rise of AI tools like ChatGPT has sparked debate in higher education, raising questions about ethics and integrity in teaching, learning and knowledge creation. In South Africa, some academic institutions are taking a proactive approach, integrating AI into their curricula. Experts say this step is not only innovative but also helps level the playing field among students. Zaheer Cassim reports from Johannesburg.

Load more

XS
SM
MD
LG