Nemat Shafiq Resigns From Columbia College Presidency… And Explains Why (Particulars)
After a interval of unrest, the president of Columbia College in New York Metropolis, Minoche Nemat Shafiq, resigned amid pupil protests on campus condemning the Israeli occupation of Gaza.
Shafiq, who assumed his put up in July final yr, introduced his resignation in an electronic mail to the college council, weeks earlier than courses started on September 3. Final Monday, the college started imposing restrictions on entry to the campus, saying it wished to restrict it. “Potential bother” as the brand new semester approaches.
In his letter, Shafiq lauded the progress in a number of necessary areas, however lamented that in his tenure it was troublesome to beat completely different views in our society, he mentioned.
He mentioned: “This era has enormously affected my household, in addition to others in society,” including: “In the course of the summer time, I used to be in a position to suppose and determined that my motion at this stage would allow Colombia to beat the challenges that await it.”
He has indicated that he’ll return to the UK to guide the International Secretary’s Workplace’s efforts to evaluate the federal government’s method to worldwide growth.
He mentioned: “I’m very comfortable and grateful that this can give me the chance to work on tackling world poverty and selling sustainable growth, areas which have been of curiosity to me all my life.”
Additionally, the Columbia College Board of Trustees introduced that Katrina Armstrong, CEO of Columbia College’s Irving Medical Middle, will assume the place of interim president.
For his half, Armstrong, who serves because the college’s government vp for well being and biomedical sciences, mentioned: “Troublesome instances current alternatives and duties for important management to emerge from each group and particular person inside society,” including: “As I envision this function Nevertheless, I’m absolutely conscious of the challenges I’ve confronted within the college over the previous yr.
Minucheh Shafiq, an Egyptian-born economist, was previously head of the London College of Economics, however has made his mark exterior academia by his roles on the World Financial institution, the UK Division for Worldwide Improvement, the Worldwide Financial Fund and the Financial institution of England. .
Upon Shafiq’s appointment, Columbia College Board of Trustees Chairman Jonathan Lavin described him as “a frontrunner with an unwavering perception that greater schooling can and should play an necessary function in fixing the world’s most urgent issues.”
Shafiq’s critics have been fast to hail the top of his tenure, one of many shortest within the college’s historical past.
Johnson, the speaker of the US Home of Representatives, mentioned his resignation was “lengthy overdue” and will function a warning instance to different college officers that tolerating or advocating anti-Semitism is unacceptable and may have penalties.
The Columbia College College students for Justice group in Palestine wrote in a put up on social media platform X that Shafiq “lastly received the memo” after months of protests.
For its half, the campus department of the group Jewish Voice for Peace mentioned it “is not going to relaxation simple by firing him as a result of the college continues to suppress the pro-Palestinian pupil motion.”
This yr, the college witnessed pupil protests, which was scenes of cops carrying plastic handcuffs and riot shields, in addition to the storming of a constructing occupied by protesters denouncing Israeli aggression.
Related protests erupted on college campuses throughout the nation, lots of which led to violent clashes with police and the arrest of 1000’s of individuals.
The announcement additionally comes because the college confirmed that three deans have resigned after officers mentioned they exchanged insulting texts throughout discussions about Jewish life and anti-Semitism on campus.
Shafiq was amongst college leaders summoned for questioning earlier than Congress earlier this yr, the place he drew criticism from Republicans who accused him of not doing sufficient to deal with issues about anti-Semitism on Columbia’s campus.
Professional-Palestinian protesters first arrange a sit-in camp on the Columbia College campus throughout Shafiq’s testimony earlier than Congress in mid-April, the place he denounced anti-Semitism however drew criticism for the way he responded to school and college students accused of bias.
The following day, the college despatched police to take away the tents, however the college students returned and sparked a wave of comparable protests on campuses throughout the nation, with college college students calling for severing monetary ties to Israel and organizations supporting the struggle.
Because the protests continued for weeks, the college turned the main focus of native and worldwide consideration as Republican Home Speaker Mike Johnson got here out to sentence the camp, whereas Democratic Consultant Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez got here out to help him.
Finally, negotiations between the college and the protesters reached an deadlock, and when the college set a deadline for employees to evacuate, a bunch occupied Hamilton Corridor.
Even after the protests ended, Columbia College determined to cancel its university-wide graduation ceremony, opting as a substitute for a number of smaller occasions.
Different distinguished leaders of the scholar affiliation have resigned from their positions in latest months, largely in response to risky protests on campus.
College of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill resigned in December lower than two years after strain from donors and criticism over her testimony at a congressional listening to wherein she did not say beneath repeated questioning that calling for the extermination of Jews on campus would violate the varsity’s mandate. Moral coverage.
In January, Harvard College President Claudine Man resigned amid allegations of plagiarism and comparable criticism of her testimony earlier than Congress.