Columbia University president resigns after Israel-Gaza protests

Columbia University President Minouche Shafik has resigned her position, ending a short and turbulent tenure marred by controversy and backlash over how she handled an outbreak of pro-Palestinian protests on campus last spring.

During the protests, Shafik twice summoned New York police to campus to disperse protesters, including those who had set up a Gaza solidarity encampment and another group that occupied a campus building. In May, a group of faculty voted that they had no confidence in Shafik, accusing her of violating students’ rights and academic freedom in her handling of the demonstrations.

She was only a few months into her presidency when the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and resulting Israel-Gaza war touched off months-long, intense protests on Columbia’s campus. At the same time, Congress launched an investigation into Columbia’s "failure to protect Jewish students” — including calling Shafik to testify before a House committee about antisemitism — and the Education Department opened its own probe over alleged Islamophobia and antisemitism.