Overview

• Katrina Armstrong has resigned as Columbia University's interim president and will return to her role leading the university's Irving Medical Center.
• Claire Shipman, co-chair of Columbia's Board of Trustees, has been appointed acting president during the search for a permanent leader.
• Armstrong's resignation follows Columbia's agreement to implement policy changes demanded by the Trump administration to address allegations of antisemitism and restore federal funding.
• The university's concessions include banning face masks during protests, increasing campus police powers, and revising oversight of the Middle Eastern studies department.
• Critics from the academic community argue these changes compromise academic freedom and set a troubling precedent for government influence over higher education.