By CAYLA BAMBERGER | cbamberger@nydailynews.com | New York Daily News
Arts and sciences faculty at Columbia University passed a vote of no confidence in embattled college president Minouche Shafik, whose congressional testimony and handling of pro-Palestinian protests created a bitter divide on campus, according to results announced Thursday.
Ballots were open for a week to close to 900 faculty from the main part of the university on a highly critical resolution alleging Shafik made unilateral decisions that put students and staff in harm’s way.
Close to 65% of respondents said they had no confidence in the president, results show. About 29% voted against the resolution, while the remainder abstained. The vote is not binding but represents the strongest criticism yet of Shafik, who was inaugurated last fall.
“The President’s choices to ignore our statutes and our norms of academic freedom and shared governance, to have our students arrested, and to impose a lockdown of our campus with continuing police presence, have irrevocably undermined our confidence in her,” read the resolution.
“A vote of no confidence in the President is the first step towards rebuilding our community and re-establishing the University’s core values,” it continued.
Just short of 8 in 10 arts and sciences faculty participated in the vote. Overall, Columbia employs more than 4,600 full-time faculty, including from other programs such as the law or journalism schools that were not eligible to participate.
“President Shafik continues to consult regularly with members of the community, including faculty, administration, and trustees, as well as with state, city, and community leaders,” said Columbia spokesman Ben Chang in a statement. “She appreciates the efforts of those working alongside her on the long road ahead to heal our community.”
The vote comes after the Columbia administration on April 30 called in the NYPD to end the takeover of a campus building, Hamilton Hall, and dismantle the Gaza solidarity encampment, leading to more than 100 arrests in and around campus.
It was the second time in recent weeks Shafik turned to police and mass arrests on April 18 to shut down the tent demonstration, which was first erected hours ahead of her appearance before Congress and sparked a national movement of college protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.
Columbia’s Board of Trustees in a letter to the editor in The Washington Post on Wednesday reaffirmed their confidence in Shafik and her leadership style of “collaborative decision-making.”
“Leadership in a crisis is a burden,” co-chairs Claire Shipman and David Greenwald wrote, “and it’s one she has borne with great wisdom and moral clarity. She is trying to navigate a path that is in the best interests of the institution and all those who love it. It is disappointing, but perhaps not surprising, that in a time of crisis, the voices of critics tend to be the loudest. The board supports her leadership and feels she is the best leader for Columbia.”
The no-confidence resolution was introduced by the campus chapter of the American Association of University Professors, a professional faculty organization.
In the resolution, faculty raised concerns about Shafik’s congressional testimony on April 17, when she said she planned to fire one professor and announced another two faculty members were under investigation over comments about Israel. Those actions, they said, are “clear violations” of academic freedom and paved the way for external forces to set university policies.
The text also criticizes her decision-making on student disciplinary action and police reinforcement to restore order on campus, without consultation with Columbia governance structures and over the objections of faculty and students on the executive committee of the University Senate. It also says she overstated the dangers posed by the students.
