WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Columbia University President Minouche Shafik resigned four months after her handling of the mass campus protests over the war in Gaza turned controversial.
In a letter to the Columbia community, the former high-ranking official at the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the president of the London School of Economics said her tenure as the head of the University has been 'a period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community.'
'This period has taken a considerable toll on my family, as it has for others in our community. Over the summer, I have been able to reflect and have decided that my moving on at this point would best enable Columbia to traverse the challenges ahead,' the letter says.
She had been under pressure to quit after months of student-led protests against Israel's attacks on Gaza at the University's New York campus spread to other U.S. colleges.
She had authorized police to enter the campus, from where NYPD arrested dozens of students who were occupying a university building.
In April, Shafik testified before the House Committee on Education & the Workforce regarding antisemitism on the Columbia University campus.
The 62-year-old British-American academic and economist said she has been asked by the UK's Foreign Secretary to chair a review of the government's approach to international development and how to improve capability.
She said it gives her the opportunity 'to return to the House of Lords to reengage with the important legislative agenda put forth by the new UK government.'
Katrina Armstrong, chief executive officer of the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, has been appointed as the interim president.
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