IBL News | New York
Dr. Katrina Armstrong, president of Columbia University, left her post this Friday after her leadership threatened $400 million in federal funding. She was Columbia’s third leader since August 2024, when the university became a hub of a campus protest movement against the war in Gaza and the Israelis.
Claire Shipman, a journalist with two degrees from Columbia and co-chair of the university’s board of trustees, was named the acting president and replaced Dr. Katrina Armstrong.
One week before this abrupt replacement, Columbia University bowed to a series of White House demands, and no resignations seemed involved.
However, a leaked revelation pointed to comments from Dr. Armstrong at a faculty meeting last weekend saying privately that the school would not stick to some of its agreements with the Trump administration.
Following this punitive approach at Columbia, the Trump Administration is now threatening to end the funding of billions of dollars to several universities across the country. Many colleges are facing inquiries from agencies that range from the Justice Department to the Department of Health and Human Services.
DEI Scrutiny
• Two days before Columbia announced its decision, the government said it would withhold about $175 million in funding to the University of Pennsylvania because the school allowed a transgender woman to be a member of its women’s swim team in 2022.
• Last week, the University of Michigan announced it will close its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) office due to recent executive orders from President Trump and funding uncertainty. The institution had spent $250 million on DEI efforts through last fall and had 163 DEI personnel.
This DEI closure announcement comes as federal funding for schools has been under scrutiny by Trump.
Antisemitic Scrutiny
Another focus from the Trump Administration is what is considered antisemitic activity on campus following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. On March 10, the White House warned 60 institutions that they risk losing federal government funding.
Moreover, nineteen of those academic institutions are under investigation for antisemitism by the Trump administration, according to Reuters.
“Universities are experiencing distress because they don’t even know the nature and extent of the allegations against them,” said Lynn Pasquerella, president of the advocacy group American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU).
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said Jewish students at “elite U.S. campuses” are in fear for their safety. “American colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers. That support is a privilege contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal antidiscrimination laws.”
