3 Columbia University deans resign after sending disparaging text messages during panel on campus Jewish life
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators at a protest outside Columbia University, in Manhattan, April 18, 2024. (Luke Tress)
New York Jewish Week — Three Columbia University administrators have resigned after exchanging a series of derisive text messages that were seen as antisemitic during a panel on campus Jewish life.
The resignations came nearly two months after the texts first came to light, causing a major scandal at the Manhattan Ivy League university as it contends with allegations of antisemitism on campus, and with months of turbulent anti-Israel protests.
The text messages — sent during the panel at the end of May and first reported in June — downplayed accounts of campus antisemitism, mocked Jewish students and suggested that a Hillel official was leveraging accusations of antisemitism for fundraising. The deans were placed on leave shortly after the texts surfaced.
Columbia University President Minouche Shafik said last month that the texts echoed “ancient antisemitic tropes.” At the time, the university said the administrators involved had been “permanently removed from their positions,” but it was unclear whether they would take on other roles at the university. A Columbia spokesperson confirmed to the New York Jewish Week on Thursday that the three deans were resigning.
The three deans who resigned are Susan Chang-Kim, the university’s vice dean and chief administrative officer; Cristen Kromm, a dean of undergraduate student life; and Matthew Patashnick, an associate vice dean for student and family support. The deans’ resignation was first reported by The New York Times.
A fourth dean who was involved in one of the text exchanges has apologized and acknowledged that the conversations “call to mind antisemitic tropes.” That administrator, the dean of Columbia College, Josef Sorett, has not resigned. A Columbia spokesperson did not respond to a request for information about Sorett’s status, or for further details about the resignations. More than 1,000 Columbia alumni have demanded Sorett’s removal in a petition.
The text message exchanges took place while the administrators were attending a May 31 panel discussion titled “Jewish Life on Campus: Past, Present, and Future.” At the panel, a Jewish student, Columbia Hillel director Brian Cohen and two other panelists discussed antisemitism at the school following Oct. 7.
“Comes from such a place of privilege,” wrote Chang-Kim. “Hard to hear the woe is me, we need to huddle at the Kraft Center,” referring to Columbia’s Jewish student center, where Hillel is housed.
“Yup. Blind to the idea that non-Israel supporting Jews have no space to come together,” responded Kromm.
While Cohen was speaking about students’ efforts to gain attention, Kromm wrote “Amazing what $$$$ can do.” At another point while Cohen was speaking, Chang-Kim wrote, “He is such a problem!”
Patashnick wrote, “He knows exactly what he’s doing and has to take full advantage of this moment. Huge fundraising potential.”
In a separate exchange, Chang-Kim wrote “He is our hero” in an apparently sarcastic message about Cohen. Nine minutes later, Sorett wrote, “Lmao,” an acronym denoting laughter, though whether that was a response to Chang-Kim or something else was unclear. He did not respond to a request for comment at the time.
Some of the text messages were first photographed by an audience member who was sitting behind one of the administrators during the panel and were first reported by the Washington Free Beacon, a conservative news outlet.
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce, which is investigating antisemitism at Columbia and other campuses, later obtained and released the full text message exchanges.
The chair of the committee, Representative Virginia Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina, said in a Thursday statement that it was “about time” the deans resigned.
“Actions have consequences, and Columbia should have fired all four of these deans months ago,” Foxx said. “Instead, the University continues to send mixed signals, letting Columbia College Dean Josef Sorett, the highest-ranking administrator involved, slide under the radar with no real consequences.”
Last month, while announcing that the deans had been removed from their positions, Shafik also vowed to start a “vigorous program of antisemitism and antidiscrimination training” in the fall, when classes reconvene.
“This incident revealed behavior and sentiments that were not only unprofessional, but also, disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes,” Shafik said in an email at that time to the campus community. “These sentiments are unacceptable and deeply upsetting, conveying a lack of seriousness about the concerns and the experiences of members of our Jewish community.”
The turmoil at Columbia has continued this summer, even though classes are not in session. On Thursday, vandals defaced the apartment building of a top Columbia executive, drawing condemnation from Gov. Kathy Hochul.
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