Columbia University president Minouche Shafik resigns after year of protests over Israel-Hamas war

Year-long tenure was defined by chaotic response to protests over Israel-Hamas war and resignation of top officials

Minouche Shafik, the embattled president of Columbia University, is resigning, the prominent economist announced in an email to the university community.

The decision follows a year of on-campus chaos over protests related to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

“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,” Shafik wrote on Wednesday. “I am making this announcement now so that new leadership can be in place before the new term begins.”

“It has also been a period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community,” she added. “This period has taken a considerable toll on my family, as it has for others in our community.”

Shafik, an economist who served in high-level positions at the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and Bank of England, took the position in July 2023. The year-long tenure was defined by her response to protests over the Israel-Hamas war, which included allowing multiple New York Police Department operations on campus to crack down on students occupying a central quad and a building at the Ivy League university.

Since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, the campus has been home to non-stop controversy, including an attack against an Israeli student, the suspension of two student groups critical of the Israeli war effort, a professor being accused of condoning Hamas terrorism, and the university coming under investigation from the U.S. Department of Education over claims of anti-Palestinian discrimination.

NYPD officers in riot gear break into a building at Columbia University, where pro-Palestinian students are barricaded inside a building and have set up an encampment, in New York City on April 30, 2024 (AFP via Getty Images)

Most recently, three top deans resigned last week, after being caught during a May campus forum on antisemitism sharing disparaging text messages that university officials described as antisemitic.

In the aftermath of the protests, Shafik was one of a number of high-profile university presidents hauled before Congress for questioning, where House members, particularly Republicans, accused Ivy League leaders of tolerating antisemitism.

Police look on during pro-Palestinian demonstrations at The City College Of New York (CUNY) as the NYPD cracks down on protest camps at both Columbia University and CCNY on April 30 2024 (Getty Images)

In the last nine months, the presidents of fellow Ivies like Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania have also resigned, facing intense scrutiny from Jewish and pro-Palestinian student groups, civil rights advocates, conservatives in Congress, and high-profile business figures like hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman.

Katrina Armstrong, CEO of Columbia University Irving Medical Center, will serve as interim president.

Shafik has said she will return to work with the UK House of Lords after her departure.