Columbia University’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, has stepped down from her position just days after committing to a campus mask ban under pressure from the Trump administration, while privately assuring faculty she would not enforce it.
Armstrong’s resignation, announced on Friday night, followed a heated battle over the Ivy League institution’s federal funding. Trump administration had threatened to withdraw $400 million unless the university complied with a series of reforms, including the ban on masks at campus protests.
In a letter to students and faculty, Armstrong confirmed she would return to her role as chief executive officer of Columbia’s Irving Medical Center.
“It has been a singular honour to lead Columbia University in this important and challenging time,” she wrote.
“This is one of the world’s great universities, in its most vital city, and I am proud to have worked with extraordinary faculty, students, and alumni. But my heart is with science, and my passion is with healing. That is where I can best serve this University and our community moving forward.”
Columbia’s board of trustees appointed co-chair Claire Shipman as acting president with immediate effect. She will remain in the role until a permanent successor is chosen, the university confirmed in a statement, quoted by the New York Post.
Armstrong’s resignation came after the university’s controversial decision to enforce the White House-backed measures last week, despite downplaying the policy internally. The administration’s crackdown, aimed at curbing anti-semitism on campus, included a demand for a total ban on masks at protests.
Columbia was given a month to comply or risk losing federal funding, ultimately conceding to the mandate.
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