Columbia University’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, is departing her position in favor of Claire Shipman, co-chairwoman of the university’s board of trustees.
Shipman will be the university’s third leader since August, when then-President Minouche Shafik departed following turmoil there over pro-Palestinian protests.
Armstrong’s departure also comes shortly after the Trump administration demanded the university enact changes or risk losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding. The university agreed to do so earlier this month, promising a change in its protest policies, Middle Eastern studies department and security practices.
The administration appeared to be satisfied with the changes prior to Armstrong’s departure, though many on campus disagreed with the new changes.
“She knew that this was her responsibility to make sure that children on her campus were safe,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon told CNN last weekend. “She wanted to make sure there was no discrimination of any kind. She wanted to address any systemic issues that were identified relative to the antisemitism on campus. And they have worked very hard in a very short period of time.”
Armstrong will stay on as the head of the university’s medical center, an email to the campus community said. “Dr. Armstrong accepted the role of interim president at a time of great uncertainty for the university and worked tirelessly to promote the interests of our community,” David J. Greenwald, the board of trustees chairman, said in a statement on Friday.
Shipman has “a clear understanding of the serious challenges facing our community,” the email said.
Columbia was the epicenter of pro-Palestinian protests last spring that rocked numerous college campuses. Onlookers criticized the university for its slow action toward moving encampments and quelling protesters. Many accused Columbia of being too soft on antisemitism.
A university report released last year detailed that Columbia failed to protect Jewish students from persecution.
The Trump administration canceled $400 million worth of grants to the university earlier this month “due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”
“Since October 7, Jewish students have faced relentless violence, intimidation, and anti-Semitic harassment on their campuses — only to be ignored by those who are supposed to protect them,” McMahon said in a statement. “Universities must comply with all federal anti-discrimination laws if they are going to receive federal funding. For too long, Columbia has abandoned that obligation to Jewish students studying on its campus. Today, we demonstrate to Columbia and other universities that we will not tolerate their appalling inaction any longer.”
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Other universities, like the University of Pennsylvania, have been targeted by the Trump administration.
The administration paused $175 million in federal aid to Penn because of “its policies forcing women to compete with men in sports.” The school had a transgender female athlete, Lia Thomas, win a NCAA Division 1 national championship in 2022.
