Armstrong's short reign at Columbia University ends in controversy
‘It has been a singular honor to lead Columbia University in this important and challenging time,’ Armstrong wrote.
The move comes after Armstrong was accused of lying about instituting a protester mask ban, as she promised she would do.
Interim President Katrina Armstrong of Columbia University in New York has resigned from her leadership position following a series of controversies related to anti-Semitism at the school.
Armstrong announced on Friday that she is stepping down after fewer than eight months in the role, resigning from her post as interim president and going back to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the university’s Irving Medical Center.
Columbia’s Board Co-Chair Claire Shipman has begun serving as Acting President as of Friday.
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“It has been a singular honor to lead Columbia University in this important and challenging time. This is one of the world’s great universities, in its most vital city, and I am proud to have worked with extraordinary faculty, students, and alumni. But my heart is with science, and my passion is with healing. That is where I can best serve this University and our community moving forward,” Armstrong wrote.
On March 7, President Donald Trump’s administration announced to Columbia’s leadership that it was cutting off $400 million in federal taxpayer funds, accusing the school of taking no serious actions to defend Jewish community members from anti-Semitism.
The administration urged Columbia to take several steps to potentially have the lost money restored.
Armstrong agreed to many of President Trump’s measures, saying it would increase the security presence on campus and ban protesters from wearing masks.
But she almost immediately went back on her words regarding the mask ban, telling professors that the ban is not in effect–before backtracking again, saying: “Any suggestion that these measures are illusory, or lack my personal support, is unequivocally false. These changes are real, and they are right for Columbia.”
The controversy came at a time during which victims of Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre sued several anti-Israel groups at the school, claiming they had “prior knowledge of the October 7 attack” but did nothing to warn the innocent civilians who were targeted.
A Columbia spokesperson has shared with Campus Reform Armstrong’s message mentioned above, as well as the school’s announcement of Shipman’s new role.
