Columbia University’s interim president Katrina Armstrong has resigned, returning to her post running the New York school’s medical center
Columbia University’s interim president Katrina Armstrong has resigned, returning to her post running the New York school’s medical center.
Armstrong’s return to her former job as CEO of Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center comes days after Columbia agreed to a host of policy changes demanded by the Trump administration as a condition of restoring $400 million in government funding.
In a statement published on the Columbia University website Friday, Armstrong said she was proud to have led the university during an “important and challenging time.”
“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,” she wrote.
Armstrong had stepped into the role in August after the previous president, Minouche Shafik, resigned following scrutiny of her handling of protests and campus divisions over the Israel-Hamas war.
The university’s trustees appointed the co-chair of their board, Claire Shipman, as acting president while the search for a permanent replacement continues.
Armstrong led the university through some of the most fraught months in its long history.
