As pro-Palestinian protests rocked campus and forced a switch to remote learning, Columbia University’s board of trustees this week expressed confidence in its president, Minouche Shafik.
But as police drones circle overhead, a no-confidence motion looms in the university Senate and politicians call for her resignation, there is turmoil outside veteran economist Shafik – a former senior official at the World Bank and Bank of England who has been at Columbia University for less than 20 years worked for a year – it was far from over.
An academic who knew her well in previous roles said: “Minouche [has been] She was extremely successful at involving leadership wherever she went. But I can’t imagine how she copes and survives.
“It’s a quandary. The more you appease right-wing attacks on campus culture, the more you undermine your position vis-à-vis the university.”
Shafik has had to walk a fine line between allowing free speech on campus and condemning episodes of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia as they occurred, in a febrile atmosphere created by Israel’s war with Hamas and this year’s U.S. election .
But tensions at Columbia escalated sharply this month when the 61-year-old was questioned by a U.S. House committee on April 17. She condemned incidents of anti-Semitism more harshly than other university presidents who placed more value on freedom. But he also angered the faculty by publicly confirming the names of several of them who were under investigation.
That same day, the “Gaza Solidarity Encamp” of protesters and their tents emerged at Columbia, calling on the university to withdraw its funds from companies linked to Israel’s military operation in the Palestinian enclave.
Marcel Agueros, professor of astronomy and secretary of the Columbia chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said the biggest shock to him and his colleagues came shortly afterward, when Shafik — against the advice of the University Senate Executive Committee — requested The New York police enter the main campus last Thursday.
They arrested 108 students from the camp. Such a police operation had not occurred on the Columbia campus in three decades and cast a shadow over an infamous incident in 1968: New York police stormed the campus with tear gas to arrest students protesting the war in Vietnam.
Police remained on site and private security guards ensured strict controls on access to the main campus.
Shafik is now under pressure from several directions. Republican politicians led by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who appeared on campus after meeting with Shafik on Wednesday, are calling for her removal for failing to adequately combat anti-Semitism on campus.
At the same time, the Columbia Senate, a policymaking body of 111 faculty, staff and students, could vote in the coming days on a motion from the AAUP criticizing “President Shafik’s and her violation of the fundamental requirements of academic freedom and shared governance.” “unprecedented attack on student rights.”
Agueros attacked Shafik over her decision to call the police. He said the past week had been “disastrous” and rejected claims that the students had been almost as disruptive as the police.
“We have experienced an unprecedented combination of disastrous decisions. The biggest disruption was the creation of this mini police state. Of course we condemn anti-Semitic acts, but we need university leaders to stand up for their concerns,” he said.
For Shafik, the motion hardly poses an immediate threat: Supporters of the no-confidence motion are still trying to find a committee to support it, meaning the Senate — which doesn’t have the power to oust them anyway — may end up having a lot agrees to a milder reprimand.
And the university’s trustees, who appointed Shafik, said on Wednesday they would “strongly” support her “as she steers the university through this extraordinarily challenging time.” . . We are working with her urgently to help resolve the situation on campus and rebuild the bonds of our community.”
Shafik herself defended her actions on Wednesday, saying: “The right to protest is essential and protected in Columbia, but harassment and discrimination are contrary to our values and are an affront to our commitment to being a community of mutual respect and of kindness.”
Shafik, whose first name is Nemat, was brought to the American South from Egypt by her parents when she was 4 years old. She studied economics at Amherst, the London School of Economics and Oxford before rising to senior positions at the World Bank, the UK Department for International Development, the IMF and the Bank of England before moving to LSE and then Columbia as President returned.
Her Columbia biography celebrates her record of success in “crucial, risky moments.” . . to address some of the world’s most complex and disruptive challenges.”
When Shafik started at Columbia last July, many faculty members were impressed not only by her appointment as the institution’s first female leader and her Arab-Muslim heritage, but also by her warmth and communication with academics. Her predecessor, Lee Bollinger, was considered distant and focused primarily on the university’s ambitious new building projects.
This positive relationship cooled after Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, when demonstrations on campus and concerns about anti-Semitic statements and threats led the government to ban the main groups protesting Israel’s offensive in Gaza – Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace – despite concerns about freedom of expression.
Colombia set up a committee to address anti-Semitism but was slower to support another committee over alleged Islamophobia. The company was also accused of failing to take rapid action against “doxxing” by people on and off campus who publicly identified student protesters.
The university faced criticism and lawsuits from Jewish student organizations, along with threats from donors to withdraw funding. At the same time, more moderate Jewish educators expressed concerns that anti-Semitism was being used as a “weapon” by right-wing politicians, who they said viewed any criticism of Israel’s offensive in Gaza, including campus protests, as anti-Semitic.
Marianne Hirsch, a professor of English at Columbia University, said: “Most right-wing Republicans are demanding [Shafik’s] Resignation is not our alumni, they are not protecting Jews, but attacking the independence of universities in a way that is unacceptable. She’s prepared and I’d like to see her succeed, but we need a fresh start.”
Since the war in Gaza began, Shafik has outlasted the presidents of two other Ivy League schools — Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania — both of whom resigned late last year amid congressional discussions over similar campus issues.
Following Shafik’s own conference appearance, Nick Dirks, former dean of arts and sciences at Columbia University and author of City of Intellecta book about universities, argued that such meetings act as a trap for university leaders.
“When you are misled in Washington by such questioning by a truly hostile group of congressmen who are effectively using McCarthyite tactics, you cannot articulate the principles of academic freedom and you will not be condemned,” Dirks said.
Additional reporting by Joshua Chaffin in New York and Claire Jones in Washington