By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, Jan 25 (Reuters) – Columbia University has picked University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin to become its fourth leader in two years, which have been marked by campus protests over Israel’s war in Gaza and threats to revoke federal funding.
Mnookin has led the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 2022. Her tenure at Columbia will begin on July 1, Columbia said on Sunday. The University of Wisconsin-Madison separately announced her departure.
Former Columbia President Minouche Shafik resigned in 2024 after the university’s handling of campus protests drew criticism from pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian sides alike. Protests took place after the start of Israel’s war in Gaza following an October 2023 Hamas attack.
Katrina Armstrong, who took over as interim president, stepped down last year after Columbia agreed to widely condemned changes during a funding battle with the Trump administration.
Armstrong was succeeded by the current acting president, Claire Shipman, whom Mnookin will succeed.
Pro-Palestinian and free speech groups condemned Columbia’s protest crackdown in which students faced arrests, suspensions, expulsions and degree revocations.
Pro-Israel groups accused the school of allowing antisemitism and not protecting Jewish students on campus, although demonstrators said criticizing Israel’s assault in Gaza should not be conflated with antisemitism.
After President Donald Trump took office, his administration threatened to withhold federal funding and initiated federal probes that were resolved in July when Columbia agreed to pay $220 million to the government in a deal.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Sergio Non and Deepa Babington)
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