Claire Shipman ’86CC, ’94SIPA, a prominent journalist and co-chair of Columbia’s Board of Trustees, was named acting president of the University on March 28.
Her appointment was announced alongside news that Katrina Armstrong, who had served as interim president since last August, was stepping down.
Board chair David J. Greenwald ’83LAW, in announcing the leadership change on behalf of the Trustees, stressed that Shipman will lead Columbia in a temporary capacity until a search for the University’s next president is complete. “That search process will be run by a search committee including trustees and faculty, will be thorough, and will include input from all parts of the Columbia community,” Greenwald wrote in an e-mail.
Shipman, a former CNN, NBC, and ABC news correspondent and best-selling author who has served as a Trustee since 2013, takes the helm at a challenging time for the University. In early March, the federal government announced the cancellation of $400 million in research grants and contracts to Columbia, asserting that the University had not done enough to combat antisemitism on campus. Under Armstrong’s leadership, Columbia responded by pledging to take further steps, such as tightening rules on student protests and agreeing to closer oversight of its programs in Middle Eastern studies. Those commitments sparked backlash on multiple fronts, with some critics suggesting the measures didn’t go far enough and many faculty and students decrying them as excessive.
Shipman, in accepting her new position, acknowledged the gravity of the moment. “I assume this role with a clear understanding of the serious challenges before us and a steadfast commitment to act with urgency and integrity, and to work with our faculty to advance our mission, implement needed reforms, protect our students, and uphold academic freedom and open inquiry,” she said. To read more, visit president.columbia.edu.
