The interim president of Columbia University comes from its role in the midst of a controversial battle with the Trump administration.
Katrina Armstrong said on Friday in a letter to the staff she was going to stand to make way for her successor Claire Shipman to take the reins of the school.
In it she said that she 'appreciated the opportunity' to be able to navigate this huge enterprise through some of the most difficult moments in its history. “
Armstrong added: “The world needs Columbia University, and you can be sure that I will do everything to tell that story.”
In a statement from the school, they said that Armstrong would return to lead the Irving Medical Center of the university.
It only comes a few days after the school agreed to meet the requirements of President Trump for policy changes after he threatened to draw the plug at $ 400 million in subsidies.
Those requirements were aimed at widespread protests on the campus about Israel's war with Hamas, the administration of which said it was treated badly.
The president launched the dramatic movement “because of the constant inactivity of the school in the light of persistent intimidation of Jewish students,” said his administration.
Katrina Armstrong said on Friday in a letter to the staff she was going to stand to make way for her successor Claire Shipman
It only comes a few days after the school corresponded to meet the requirements of President Trump for policy changes
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators march through the campus of Columbia University to mark a year of the war between Hamas and Israel in New York City on October 7, 2024
The protests last year were allowed to walk unbridled for two weeks and were characterized by violent attacks and cases of Jewish students who were afraid to go to class.
Trump's educational secretary Linda McMahon said: 'Since October 7, Jewish students have had to deal with ruthless violence, intimidation and anti-Semitic intimidation on their campuses-all to be ignored by those who are supposed to protect them.
“Universities must comply with all federal anti -discrimination laws if they receive federal financing.”
The announcement coincided with the recent Anti-Israël Campus protests at the Barnard College of Columbia, which Trump convicted aggressively.
In her letter in which the changes were announced, Armstrong said that the university would immediately point out a senior vice provost to perform a thorough assessment of the portfolio of its regional study programs, “starting immediately with the Midden -East”.
Columbia will also renew its long -standing disciplinary process and bar protests in academic buildings. Students are not allowed to wear face masks on campus to hide someone's identity. '
An exception would be made for people who wear health reasons.
In an attempt to expand 'intellectual diversity' within the university, Columbia will also designate new faculty members at the Institute for Israel and Jewish studies.
It will also accept a new definition of anti -Semitism and expand programming in his Tel Aviv Center, a research shub based in Israel.
The administration drew the subsidies and other federal financing and had threatened to cut more, about the handling of protests by the university against Israel's war against Hamas
Mahmoud Khalil, the main negotiator of students for the pro-Palestinian camp, was arrested by agents from the Ministry of Interior Security
The protests at the school recently led to the detention of Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil.
Khalil 30, last year, stood in the front line of the noisy pro-palestine demonstrations that consumed university campuses throughout the country.
At the end of April 2024, hundreds of students set up a camp in Columbia, who took over the quad while protesting against the continuous war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
On April 30, dozens of protesters took over Hamilton Hall and barricaded themselves inside before they hung a 'free Palestine' banner on a window.
That same night, police officers stormed the building in New York City in Riot Gear and also cleared the camp.
Before the protest was caught, Khalil was the most important management between the students and the university administration.
The government tries to deport him under a status that makes it possible to remove non -citizens who 'potentially seriously serious adverse consequences for foreign policy'.
The Ministry of Home Security claimed that he had “led activities that were tailored to Hamas” and that the action was taken “in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
The president accused Khalil of being 'pro-haamas' and State Secretary Marco Rubio stated that the US would withdraw visa and green cards from 'Hamas supporters'.
He is not accused of a crime. He is also married to an American citizen who is eight months pregnant.
