Columbia University president quits months after Gaza protests on campus

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - Columbia University President Minouche Shafik announced her resignation Wednesday after months of criticism over her handling of campus protests against Israel's war in the Gaza Strip.

"I have had the honor and privilege to lead this incredible institution, and I believe that — working together — we have made progress in a number of important areas," she said in a letter addressed to the Columbia community.

"However, it has also 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 she has tried to navigate a path that upholds academic principles and treats everyone with "fairness and compassion."

"It has been distressing—for the community, for me as president and on a personal level—to find myself, colleagues, and students the subject of threats and abuse,” she added.

The university announced that Katrina Armstrong, CEO of Columbia University Irving Medical Center, will take over as interim president for the upcoming academic year, which begins in less than a month.

Columbia's protests began in April and have served as a flashpoint for the wider anti-war movement after Shafik asked the New York Police Department (NYPD) to deploy to the school's campus on April 18, when over 100 people were taken into custody in an attempt to clear an encampment.

Demonstrators quickly adapted, however, and opened a new sit-in on another university lawn.

Shafik again requested the NYPD come to campus on April 30 to break up another protest site and clear students from an administrative building they had been occupying. In all, 112 people were taken into police custody.

This time around, Shafik requested that the NYPD maintain a presence on Columbia's campus until at least May 17 – the day after the school's multi-day graduation concluded – "to maintain order and ensure encampments are not reestablished."​​​​​​​