Columbia University president quits, months after handling of Gaza war protests

Columbia University President Minouche Shafik resigned on Wednesday, nearly four months after the Ivy League university's handling of campus protests over Israel's war on Gaza was criticised by pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian sides alike.

"It has also been a period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community," Shafik said in an email to staff and students. "This period has taken a considerable toll on my family, as it has for others in our community."

Shafik said her departure "at this point would best enable Columbia to traverse the challenges ahead." She said she made the announcement so new leadership could be in place before the new term begins.

Columbia was rocked in April and May as protesters occupied parts of the Upper Manhattan campus in opposition to Palestinian civilian deaths in Gaza, resulting in hundreds of arrests. The demonstrators denounced Shafik for calling police onto campus to halt the demonstrations, while pro-Israel supporters castigated her for failing to crack down sufficiently.

Katrina Armstrong, Columbia's executive vice president for health and biomedical services, will serve as the interim president, according to the university website.

Shafik, an Egyptian-born economist who holds British and U.S. nationality, was previously deputy governor of the Bank of England, president of the London School of Economics and deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund.

She became the 20th president of Columbia University in July 2023.

After protesters set up dozens of tents and demanded that the university sell its Israeli assets, university officials tried to negotiate an agreement with protesters on dismantling the camps.

As talks failed, Shafik on 18 April took the unusual step of asking New York police to enter the campus, angering many rights groups, students and faculty.

More than 100 people were arrested and the tents were removed from the main lawn, but within a few days, the encampment was back in place. The university called police back in on April 30, when they arrested 300 people at Columbia and the City College of New York.

Shafik then asked police to stay until at least 17 May - two days after graduation - "to maintain order and ensure that encampments are not re-established."

(Reuters)