Columbia’s president steps apart for brand spanking new management at embattled college | US universities

Columbia College’s interim president has stepped down, the newest management shakeup on the Ivy League faculty, which has been aggressively focused by the Trump administration over pro-Palestinian protests on campus.

Katrina Armstrong is being changed by Claire Shipman, co-chair of its board of trustees, who’s stepping up as performing president efficient instantly, the college stated on Friday night. Shipman is the college’s third president since August, when Minouche Shafik resigned amid intense scrutiny of her dealing with of demonstrations.

Armstrong’s abrupt departure comes only one week after the college gave in to strain from the Trump administration after it pulled $400m in federal funding. The president and different critics have accused Columbia of failing to stop antisemitism on campus, saying the establishment didn’t do sufficient to clamp down on protests, although the college final 12 months facilitated arrests of demonstrators and suspended pro-Palestinian pupil teams.

The college launched a memo outlining its settlement with the Trump administration hours earlier than an prolonged deadline set by the federal government was to run out. The memo laid out measures together with banning facemasks on campus, empowering safety officers to take away or arrest people, and taking management of the division that provides programs on the Center East from its college.

Among the many most contentious of the 9 calls for, Columbia agreed to put its Center Jap, South Asian and African Research division beneath a brand new official, the memo stated. The brand new senior vice-provost will evaluate the varsity’s applications to make sure the “choices are complete and balanced”.

The demand raised alarm amongst professors at Columbia and elsewhere, who fearful that allowing the federal authorities to dictate how a division is run would set a harmful precedent. Rights advocates referred to as it an assault on free speech.

Armstrong will stay at Columbia, returning to steer the college’s Irving Medical Middle. Shipman will function performing president whereas the board completes its seek for a everlasting alternative, the college stated.

Shipman has served as co-chair of the board of trustees since 2023 and has been a board member since 2013. A journalist and writer, she holds two levels from Columbia.

“I assume this position with a transparent understanding of the intense challenges earlier than us and a steadfast dedication to behave with urgency, integrity, and work with our college to advance our mission, implement wanted reforms, defend our college students, and uphold educational freedom and open inquiry,” Shipman stated in a press release.

Information of Armstrong stepping down got here amid reviews within the Harvard Crimson pupil newspaper and the New York Instances that two leaders of Harvard’s Middle for Center Jap Research can be stepping down. The papers cited college with information of the matter, and the college has not commented on the reviews. Like Columbia, Harvard has been dealing with strain from the Trump administration and others amid claims it has failed to handle antisemitism.

The Trump administration this week has additionally been escalating efforts to deport college students from campuses throughout the nation who’re on visas or are green-card holders and had been related to pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

Reuters contributed to this report