Columbia University's Leadership Shake-Up

Columbia University has a new acting president. Claire Shipman will take over the role. She is the co-chair of the board of trustees. This change comes after Katrina A. Armstrong decided to step down. She had been serving as the interim president since August. Armstrong will go back to her job at the Irving Medical Center. This is a big change for the university. They have been dealing with a lot of issues lately. The university had a tough spring semester. There were many protests on campus. These protests were about the war in Gaza. The situation got so bad that the university's president at the time, Nemat Shafik, resigned. This left Armstrong to take over. She had a big job ahead of her. She had to help the university through a very uncertain time. Armstrong worked hard to support the university community. She tried to promote the interests of everyone involved. The university recently made a deal with the Trump administration. They agreed to a list of demands. This was to start talks about getting back $400 million in federal funding. The funding was taken away earlier this month. The administration said the university did not do enough to stop harassment of Jewish students. This was a big problem for the university. They had to work hard to fix it. David Greenwald is the chair of the board of trustees. He had good things to say about Armstrong. He said she took on the role of interim president at a very uncertain time. She worked hard to help the university. Greenwald also said Armstrong will continue to contribute to the university. He thanked her for her service. The university is lucky to have someone like Armstrong. She has always given her best to the school. The university has a lot to deal with. They have to fix their problems with federal funding. They also have to handle the fallout from the protests. It will be interesting to see how Shipman handles these challenges. She has a big job ahead of her. But she is not alone. She has the support of the board of trustees. They will help her make the right decisions for the university.