Columbia University president quits months after handling of Gaza war protests
Columbia University President Minouche Shafik resigned on Wednesday, nearly four months after the Ivy League university's handling of campus protests over Israel's war in Gaza was criticized by pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian sides alike.
«It has also been a period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community,» Shafik said in an email to staff and students. «This period has taken a considerable toll on my family, as it has for others in our community.»
Shafik said her departure «at this point would best enable Columbia to traverse the challenges ahead.» She said she made the announcement so new leadership could be in place before the new term begins.
Columbia was rocked in April and May as protesters occupied parts of the Upper Manhattan campus in opposition to Palestinian civilian deaths in Gaza, resulting in hundreds of arrests. The demonstrators denounced Shafik for calling police onto campus to halt the demonstrations, while pro-Israel supporters castigated her for failing to crack down sufficiently.
Katrina Armstrong, Columbia's executive vice president for health and biomedical services, will serve as the interim president, according to the university website.
Israel kills 40 Palestinians in Gaza airstrikes amid fears of wider war
Republican U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik from upstate New York, who castigated Shafik and other university leaders in congressional hearings over Gaza protests nationwide, welcomed her resignation on X, saying
