Columbia University President Resigns Following Backlash over Gaza Protests

By Staff, Agencies

Columbia University’s president Minouche Shafik resigned after facing extensive criticism regarding her handling of pro-Palestinian protests on campus, which sparked widespread protests in other US universities.

Shafik announced her resignation in an email to the university community on Wednesday after a little more than a year on the job, becoming the third president of an Ivy League university to step down in the wake of campus protests over Gaza war.

The university faced criticism for its heavy-handed tactics against pro-Palestinian students protesting the genocide in Gaza. Shafik authorized New York police to move on to campus and break up their encampments, claiming the protesting students “pose a clear and present danger to the substantial functioning of the university.”

Hundreds of faculty members issued statements condemning Shafik’s tactics, and walked out in support of their students. Since then, Shafik had come under growing pressure to step down over her role in the crackdown.

Shafik made her decision to resign public on Wednesday. She said she wanted to ensure that new leadership is in place before the upcoming term starts on September 3, a date when student protesters have pledged to continue their demonstrations.

"It has... been a period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community. This period has taken a considerable toll on my family, as it has for others in our community," Shafik said in a statement.

The university appointed Katrina Armstrong, the dean of Columbia's medical school, as the interim president. In her statement, Armstrong expressed deep understanding of the challenges the University has encountered in the past year.

Shafik, a former head of the London School of Economics and ex-World Bank official, has declared her intention to return to the UK after stepping down from her position.

The student protest group Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine welcomed the resignation on social media network X.

“After months of chanting ‘Minouche Shafik you can’t hide’ she finally got the memo. To be clear, any future president who does not pay heed to the Columbia student body’s overwhelming demand for divestment will end up exactly as President Shafik did,” the group wrote.

The announcement comes just days after the school confirmed that three deans had resigned after the university's president criticized their involvement in "very troubling" text messages.

Columbia University has announced a midnight deadline for discussions regarding the removal of encampments by pro-Palestinian protesters.

Columbia University emerged as a focal point for student-led pro-Palestinian protests, igniting a significant wave of demonstrations at universities throughout the United States and abroad.