The president of the prestigious American university of Columbia, Nemat Talaat Shafik, known as “Minouche” Shafik, announced on Wednesday August 14 that she had resigned, almost four months after the occupation of the New York campus by pro-Palestinian demonstrators, finally dislodged by the police at her request.
“It was a turbulent time and it was difficult to overcome the differences that existed in our community. It took a heavy toll on my family, as it did on others.”wrote M.me Shafik in an email to the institution’s employees and students.
The Manhattan-based university has been rocked in recent months by student protests, culminating in scenes where police armed with riot shields stormed a building that had been occupied by pro-Palestinian activists. Similar protests have erupted on college campuses across the country.
Auditioned before Congress
Mme Shafik was among university leaders questioned before Congress this year and was roundly criticized by Republicans who accused her of not doing enough to combat anti-Semitism on her campus.
The 62-year-old economist, who holds triple Egyptian, American and British nationality, was appointed president of the university last year, becoming the first woman to hold the post. She previously headed the London School of Economics and worked at the World Bank, where she rose through the ranks to become the institution’s youngest ever vice-president. She has also held positions at the International Monetary Fund and the Bank of England.
Columbia’s board of trustees announced that Katrina Armstrong, chief executive officer of the university’s Irving Medical Center, has agreed to serve as interim president, with classes set to resume Sept. 3.
Several resignations before her
Other female leaders at private universities in the northeastern United States have resigned in recent months, largely over their handling of campus protests.
University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill resigned in December after less than two years in the post, amid pressure from donors and criticism over her testimony at a congressional hearing in which she failed to say, after repeated questioning, that on-campus calls for genocide of Jews would violate the school’s conduct policy.
And in January, Harvard University President Claudine Gay resigned after accusations of plagiarism and criticism over her testimony before Congress, where she also failed to say unequivocally that calls for genocide of Jews would be against school policy.