Columbia University President Minouche Shafik resigned on Wednesday, months after main anti-Gaza conflict protests swept via the campus.
Her resignation comes simply weeks earlier than the beginning of the brand new faculty 12 months, citing the toll taken by a “period of turmoil” after she confronted scrutiny for her dealing with of demonstrations.
British-American economist Shafik is the fourth president of an Ivy League college to step down within the wake of nationwide anti-war protests, adopted by bitter divisions and inner political strain.
The protests that roiled Columbia and different faculties culminated in U.S. Congress grilling greater schooling leaders about accusations of anti-Semitism and whether or not sufficient was being carried out to maintain Jewish college students protected.
Shafik, who final 12 months grew to become the primary lady to steer Columbia, stated in a letter to the college’s group that she felt her tenure had “made progress in a number of important areas” however famous it was additionally “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,” she stated.
“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.”
She stated her resignation was efficient instantly and introduced she was taking a job with the U.Ok. Foreign Secretary to steer a evaluate of the federal government’s method to worldwide improvement.
With the autumn semester beginning in simply three weeks, Columbia’s board of trustees named Katrina Armstrong, the dean of the medical faculty, as interim president.
Columbia was an epicenter of the campus anti-war protest motion that spanned the United States and ignited a heated debate about Washington’s help for Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
Pro-Palestinan protesters arrange encampments on Columbia’s campus in April whereas Shafik testified at a House committee investigating anti-Semitism.
Protesters – many who have been themselves Jewish – stated anti-Israel views have been being conflated with anti-Semitism and that particular person allegations of hate incidents have been getting used to distract from requires a cease-fire.
Columbia referred to as in New York police to forcibly evict college students occupying a constructing on the finish of April and canceled its predominant graduation ceremony in May.
Last month, Columbia eliminated three directors from their roles over textual content messages exchanged throughout a panel dialogue about Jewish life on campus.
Shafik’s Ivy League counterparts Elizabeth Magill of the University of Pennsylvania and Claudine Gay of Harvard additionally resigned following their very own Congressional hearings.
Martha Pollock, who didn’t seem earlier than lawmakers, left Cornell University in July after controversy over disciplinary motion towards pro-Palestinian protesters.
Shafik stated she discovered herself, college students and colleagues topic to distressing “threats and abuse.”
“We must do all we can to resist the forces of polarization in our community,” she wrote.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson had earlier sharply criticized the pro-Palestinian protests as “terrorism” and in an announcement on Wednesday welcomed Shafik’s resignation.
Source: www.dailysabah.com