NEW YORK CITY (TND) — The Columbia University chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) announced Thursday a “no confidence” vote against the school’s president Minouche Shafik.
The symbolic measure holds no sway over Shafik’s position at the school, but sends a strong message to university leaders. In a statement posted to X, AAUP explained the president has made one too many missteps at the helm of the university.
“We have lost confidence in the capacity of the senior admin, as personified by the president, to make the right decisions for Columbia based on the series of mistakes, miscalculations, overreaches & violations of norms of governance,” Columbia AAUP president David Lurie wrote.Faculty members organized the vote after Shafik authorized New York City police officers to enter the school’s Hamilton Hall and remove protesters who had taken over the building earlier this month.
“We unequivocally condemn the decision taken by President Shafik, the Board of Trustees, the Chief Operating Officer, and associated administrators on April 30 to summon the New York Police Department to remove student protesters from campus,” Columbia AAUP wrote this month. “These offenses culminated in the horrific police attack on our students that is now shamefully on view for the whole world to see.”
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Columbia issued a statement following the police intervention saying the decision to call law enforcement was its last resort to resolve the conflict.
“We regret that protesters have chosen to escalate the situation through their actions,” the school wrote at the time. “We made it very clear yesterday that the work of the university cannot be endlessly interrupted by protesters who violate the rules.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson earlier this month urged Columbia to remove Shafik, saying she has failed to protect the school’s Jewish students amid uproar over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
“Because it is abundantly clear that President Shafik would rather cede control to Hamas supporters than restore order, Columbia’s Board of Trustees should immediately remove her and appoint a new president who will,” Speaker Johnson said. “Our once great universities desperately need strong moral leadership, now more than ever.”
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