Following a contentious standoff with the Trump administration, Columbia University’s interim president, Katrina A. Armstrong, has resigned and is set to return to leading Columbia’s Irving Medical Center.
Armstrong’s tenure as president ends after weeks of tense discussions with the federal government. Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced it would cut $400 million in federal funding to Columbia “due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.” The Trump administration said that, before formal negotiations could begin, Columbia first had to agree to a series of changes to its campus operations, the most controversial stipulation being calling for the university’s department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African studies to be placed on academic receivership.
On March 21, Columbia announced it planned to comply with the government’s preconditions.
In a statement released Friday night, the administration’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism wrote that “the action taken by Columbia’s trustees today, especially in light of this week’s concerning revelation, is an important step toward advancing negotiations as set forth in the pre-conditional understanding reached last Friday between the University and the Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism.”
Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration had pressured Columbia to reaffirm its support for the measures it had previously agreed to. Following Columbia’s announcement, details from Armstrong’s meetings with faculty members became public, with the Trump administration reportedly concerned by Armstrong’s less-than-absolute support in these meetings for the government’s prescriptions. Shortly thereafter, Armstrong released a statement reiterating her support for the administration’s proposals.
“Any suggestion that these measures are illusory, or lack my personal support, is unequivocally false. These changes are real, and they are right for Columbia,” Armstrong wrote.
Armstrong became president in August 2024 after the sudden resignation of Nemat (Minouche) Shafik, who stepped down following ongoing campus protests, criticisms regarding Columbia’s response from across the political spectrum, and pressure from Republican lawmakers.
Claire Shipman, co-chair of Columbia’s Board of Trustees, will assume the role of acting president going forward, the university announced Friday night. Shipman is the former senior national correspondent for ABC’s Good Morning America. She is an author and public speaker.
This is a developing story.
