Columbia University’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, is stepping aside and the co-chair of its board of trustees, Claire Shipman, has been named acting president, the university said in a statement on Friday.
Armstrong is returning to lead the university’s Irving Medical Center, Columbia University said, adding: “Board of trustees co-chair Claire Shipman has been appointed acting president, effective immediately, and will serve until the board completes its presidential search.”
In announcing the leadership change, David Greenwald, chair of the board of trustees, said: “Katrina has always given her heart and soul to Columbia. We appreciate her service and look forward to her continued contributions to the university.”
Shipman has served as co-chair of the board since 2023 and has been a board member since 2013. A journalist and author, she holds two degrees from Columbia.
“I assume this role with a clear understanding of the serious challenges before us and a steadfast commitment to act with urgency, integrity, and work with our faculty to advance our mission, implement needed reforms, protect our students, and uphold academic freedom and open inquiry. Columbia’s new permanent president, when that individual is selected, will conduct an appropriate review of the university’s leadership team and structure to ensure we are best positioned for the future,” Shipman said.
Armstrong’s abrupt departure comes just one week after the university gave in to pressure from the Trump administration after it pulled $400m in federal funding amid allegations that the school tolerated antisemitism on campus.
The university released a memo outlining its agreement with the Trump administration hours before an extended deadline set by the government was to expire. The memo laid out measures including banning facemasks on campus, empowering security officers to remove or arrest individuals, and taking control of the department that offers courses on the Middle East from its faculty.
Among the most contentious of the nine demands, Columbia agreed to place its Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies department under a new official, the memo said. The new senior vice-provost will review the school’s programs to ensure the “offerings are comprehensive and balanced”.
The demand raised alarm among professors at Columbia and elsewhere, who worried that permitting the federal government to dictate how a department is run would set a dangerous precedent. Rights advocates called it an assault on free speech.
Armstrong had stepped into the role after the previous president, Minouche Shafik, resigned following scrutiny of her handling of protests and campus divisions over the Israel-Gaza war.
Reuters contributed to this report
