The temporary president of the Columbia University abandoned its position on Friday night, as the school faced the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding and the growing skepticism of the Trump administration for its leadership.
The move came a week after Columbia’s incitement to a series of demands from the federal government, which had canceled about $ 400 million in substantial federal funding and made a road to Columbia’s third leader in August. Claire Shipman, who was a co -chairman of the University Board of Directors, was named President of the University and replaced Dr. Katrina Armstrong.
The university, which was deeply shaken by a protest camp last spring and a category volleyball that it had become a safe haven for anti -Semitism, announced the change of leadership to an email on campus on Friday night. The letter thanked Dr. Armstrong about her efforts during “a great uncertainty about the university” and said that Ms Shipman has a “clear understanding of the serious challenges facing our community”.
Less than a week ago, Trump’s administration had marked that he was satisfied with Dr. Armstrong and the steps he took to restore funding. But in a statement on Friday, his joint working group to combat anti -Semitism said that the departure of Dr. Armstrong from the Presidency was “an important step towards promoting negotiations” between the government and the university.
The statement included a cryptic reference to a “revelation” this week, which appeared to be reported by Dr. Armstrong’s comments at a school meeting last weekend. According to a member of the school he attended, Dr. Armstrong and Provost, Angela Olinto, confuse some people when they seemed to downgrade the impact of the university’s agreement with the government. A copy of the meeting was leaked to the media as well as Trump’s administration, according to two people familiar with the situation.
Ms Shipman, a two -degree journalist from Columbia, takes over one of the primary nation universities in a highly indebted time in American higher education.
The federal government threatens to end billions of dollars to universities across the country, many of which are facing research by organizations ranging from the Ministry of Justice at the Ministry of Health and Human Services.
But Trump’s criminal approach to universities plays more strongly in Columbia. The university, a hub of last spring’s protest movement against the Gaza war, has passed months facing accusations on the one hand that ruled out anti -Semitic behavior and allowed to dominate lawlessness and the other.
The government’s move this month to stop hundreds of millions of dollars in Columbia’s support – which draws about one fifth of its operating revenue from Washington – represented a terrible threat to the university. The government has told Columbia that it would examine the reboot of these grants and contracts only after the university has agreed on a list of claims.
Last week, he fell to Dr. Armstrong to announce that Columbia had done it.
Among other steps, Columbia said it will have 36 campus security officers with arrest powers, a shift with huge coordination to a university that has a long history of campus and bonds with law enforcement. The university also stated that it will adopt an official definition of anti -Semitism, review its introduction policies and, in the order that was particularly worrying to teachers who love academic freedom, impose new supervision of the Middle East, South Asia and Asia.
Although university officials said they had already examined some of the government’s demands, Columbia’s consent imposed a significant conviction on the campus and beyond. Other higher education leaders were nervously watched, fearing that the university’s decision, without a court challenge that many believed to have had reasonable chance of success, would cause the government to target other universities.
Two days before Columbia announced its decision, the government said it would withhold about $ 175 million in funding at the University of Pennsylvania because the school allowed a transsexual female to be a member of the women’s swimming group in 2022.
The departure of Dr. Armstrong from the Presidency was as sharp as taking up it last summer. Then, shortly before the lessons began, Nemat Shafik resigned as president, ending up in a 13 -month term that had led to Columbia’s worldwide criticism.
“Dr. Armstrong accepted the role of the temporary president in a time of great uncertainty for the university and worked tirelessly to promote the interests of our community,” said David J. Greenwald, chairman of the Board of Directors. The university said Dr. Armstrong would remain in Columbia as head of the University Medical Center.
In an email addressed to colleagues on Friday night, Dr. Armstrong said it was “a unique honor to lead Columbia University in this important and difficult time”.
“My heart is with my science and my passion is cured,” he added. “There I can better serve this university and our community to move on.”
The Wall Street Journal said for the first time that Dr. Armstrong would leave Columbia’s presidency.
Less than a week ago, Linda McMahon, secretary of Trump’s administration, had suggested that he was satisfied with the work of Dr. Armstrong.
“She knew this was her responsibility to make sure that the children in her campus were safe,” Ms McMahon told CNN last weekend. “He wanted to make sure that there was no distinction of any kind, he wanted to address any systematic issues found in relation to anti -Semitism on campus and have worked very hard in a very short time.”
Mrs McMahon then said that Columbia was “on the right track so we could move on”, but stopped saying that the government would revive its various funding agreements with Columbia.
But the government’s concern about Dr. Armstrong’s commitment was clear until Tuesday, urging it to release a public letter that confirms its seriousness.
“Any proposal that these measures are deceitful or do not have my personal support, they are undoubtedly false,” he wrote in the Columbia community.
Brent R. Stockwell, president of the Columbia Biological Sciences Department, said that despite the criticism of some districts this week, Dr. Armstrong had maintained the support of those who thought that the recovery of the federal funding of the university was primary.
“He had great support,” Professor Stockwell said.
He said he could not talk about everyone, but that many in the school’s research community “are not willing to give up the dream that Columbia can improve the world and the lives of Americans through research.
Spokesman Tim Walberg, a Republican of Michigan, and the Chairman of the Education and Labor Power Committee, which seeks the discipline of the Columbia students’ discipline, said the school should double its efforts to “overcome” its efforts.
The Walberg spokesman also marked the new temporary president that he would not receive honeymoon. “Mrs Shipman, while wishing you good luck, we will watch carefully,” said Walberg spokesman.
Adarsh Pachori, a postgraduate student in Columbia, said he was “uncomfortable and worried” by the sudden change in university leadership.
“This resignation along with the withdrawal of funding, the debate on deportations and the government’s involvement is generally frustrating,” said Pachori, who was walking on the campus on Friday night. “It is beginning to seem that Columbia’s administration is simply caught the demands of the US government instead of supporting the beliefs and values that they promised in Columbia.”
Torque They contributed reports.
