Katrinsa Armstrong, pictured in 2022. (Screenshot)

(JTA) — Katrina Armstrong, Columbia University’s interim president, stepped down on Friday as the school faced criticism over campus antisemitism, including the threat of losing $400 million in federal funding.

Armstrong’s departure means the Ivy League university in Manhattan will have its third leader in the space of a year. President Minouche Shafik resigned last August in the wake of massive protests that made Columbia the epicenter of student demonstrations over the Gaza war, and that led to a significant police response.

Now, Armstrong will be replaced by Claire Shipman, a former journalist and the co-chair of Columbia’s board of trustees. Armstrong will run the school’s medical center, a job she had before becoming acting president.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Armstrong contended with continued tensions around the Israel-Hamas war. Then, beginning in January, she met aggressive actions by the Trump administration that it said were a response to campus antisemitism. ICE is attempting to deport multiple people involved in the pro-Palestinian protests, including Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested in Columbia housing and whose case has drawn global attention.

The administration also froze $400 million in federal funding to the school, demanding a litany of changes to how Columbia dealt with protests and to the oversight of an academic department. Columbia agreed to many of those changes, though Armstrong also reportedly downplayed them in a meeting with faculty.

Last year, Shipman decried antisemitism in testimony before Congress, and said she wasn’t satisfied with the school’s response.

“Antisemitism is dangerous and reprehensible. It has no place at Columbia or in our society, and I’m grateful as a citizen, and as co-chair of our board for the spotlight you’re putting on this ancient hatred,” she said in her remarks. She added soon afterward, “It is unacceptable. I can tell you plainly that I am not satisfied with where Columbia is at the moment.”

In a statement upon becoming acting president, Shipman said, “I assume this role with a clear understanding of the serious challenges before us and a steadfast commitment to act with urgency, integrity, and to work with our faculty to advance our mission, implement needed reforms, protect our students, and uphold academic freedom and open inquiry.”

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount