Katrina Armstrong will “immediately” “effectively” as the interim president of Columbia University, the school said.
Armstrong was announced as an interim president of the University of New York City in August 2024 after the then president Minouche Shafik announced his immediate resignation, after the students’ protests on the Hamas War of Israel that toured the campus.
This photo provided by Columbia University, on August 16, 2024, shows the interim president Dr. Katrina Armstrong.
JORG MEYER Photography/Columbia University through AP
“Dr. Armstrong accepted the role of interim president at a time of great uncertainty for the university and worked tirelessly to promote the interests of our community,” said David J. Greenwald, president of the Trustee Board.
“Katrina has always given her heart and soul to Columbia. We appreciate her service and wait for her continuous contributions to the university,” Greenwald said Friday.
The school said that Armstrong would return to lead the Irving Medical Center of the University and that the co -president of the Board of Trustees, Claire Shipman, has been appointed interim president.
“I suppose this role with a clear understanding of the serious challenges that we have before us and a firm commitment to act urgently, integrity and work with our power to advance our mission, implement the necessary reforms, protect our students and maintain academic freedom and open research,” Shipman said in a statement.
The news occurs a week after the university seems to have yielded to the demands of the Trump administration after a threat of retaining $ 400 million in federal funds.
The school published a four -page memorandum last week entitled “Advancing our work to combat discrimination, harassment and anti -Semitism in Columbia.”
Columbia agreed to prohibit masks, one of the key demands of the Trump administration, saying in the memorandum: “Public security has determined that facial masks or facial coverage are not allowed with the purpose of hiding the identity of one in the commission of violations of university policies or state, municipal or federal laws.”
The university also agreed strict controls on its Department of Studies in Middle East, which will now be supervised by a new senior vice -edge that “will carry out an exhaustive review of the portfolio of programs in regional areas of the entire university, starting immediately with the Middle East.”
The Columbia Trustee Board issued a statement that supports the memorandum last weekend.
“We have and continue to support the interim approach of President Armstrong, including the current presentation of the university’s progress and the deeply reflexive actions. We are grateful for his leadership of principles and brave during this unprecedented time, and for the steps he has and is taking to strengthen our institution,” said the Board of Trust.
Earlier this month, the former graduate student of the University of Columbia, Mahmoud Khalil, was arrested by the application of immigration and customs due to his participation in last year’s protests.
Khalil was arrested in the lobby of an apartment building owned by Columbia as he returned to his residence with his wife, according to habeas corpus request challenging his arrest presented by his lawyers.
