Columbia University announced Friday that Interim President Katrina Armstrong is stepping down from her role, just days after the school agreed to comply with Trump administration demands to restore $400 million in federal funding.
Armstrong will return to her previous position at Columbia’s Irving Medical Center, according to a statement from the Board of Trustees.
“Katrina has always given her heart and soul to Columbia,” said David J. Greenwald, Chair of the Board of Trustees. “We appreciate her service and look forward to her continued contributions to the University.”
The board named Claire Shipman, current Co-Chair of the Board and veteran journalist, as acting president, effective immediately. She will serve in the role until a permanent replacement is selected.
Shipman, who joined Columbia’s Board of Trustees in 2013 and has co-chaired since 2023, is a former ABC News correspondent known for her award-winning reporting on politics and international affairs. She holds a graduate degree from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs and a bachelor’s in Russian studies from Columbia College.
“I assume this role with a clear understanding of the serious challenges before us and a steadfast commitment to act with urgency, integrity, and work with our faculty to advance our mission, implement needed reforms, protect our students, and uphold academic freedom and open inquiry,” Shipman said in a statement.
The leadership transition follows Columbia’s controversial decision last week to accept a series of conditions set by the Trump administration in exchange for the release of withheld federal funds. The university agreed to ban face coverings during protests, authorize campus security to make arrests, and adopt a formal definition of antisemitism.
The funding was suspended after the White House alleged that Columbia had failed to protect Jewish students during last year’s pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus.
In a recent statement, a university spokesperson said Columbia is committed to building “a better, stronger place free of all forms of discrimination,” and welcomed the “ongoing dialogue” with federal regulators.
The presidential search is expected to begin in the coming weeks.
