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Columbia University’s new president is already facing opposition from anti-Israel rabble-rousers, who have condemned her for previous actions taken against leftist encampments at her last college.
“Columbia just announced Jennifer Mnookin as its new president,” CU Apartheid Divest, an unofficial Columbia group, said on X. “As chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, she called riot police to beat up and arrest students for their Gaza Solidarity Encampment. She’ll fit in perfectly with the rest of the school’s fascist admin.”
In May 2024, Mnookin gave the order for police to tear down encampments by radical left-wing Students for Justice in Palestine and Wisconsin Young Democratic Socialists of America, who were at the time calling for divestment from Israel, according to the University of Wisconsin—Madison’s student newspaper, The Daily Cardinal.
Thirty-four people were arrested in what the newspaper described as a “raid.” Most were cited and released, and the encampment popped back up the next day.
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Jennifer Mnookin attends UCLA Black Law: 50th Anniversary Solidarity Gala at The Beverly Hills Hotel on April 04, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. (Leon Bennett/Getty Images)
The Ivy League school’s board of trustees on Sunday announced that Mnookin will replace acting school head Claire Shipman effective July 1. The search for a new president began last April, after Minouche Shafik, the prior head of the school, resigned amid controversy over anti-Israel protests and encampments.
“Jennifer will be an exceptional leader for Columbia’s future,” said David J. Greenwald and Jeh C. Johnson, co-chairs of the Columbia University Board of Trustees. “She is a distinguished scholar who now leads a complex institution with clarity and vision. She understands the essential role that higher education and research play in advancing knowledge, serving the public good, and addressing our most pressing challenges.”
“She is also a keen listener who builds consensus and does not shy away from making difficult decisions when necessary,” Greenwald and Johnson continued. “As president, she will lead Columbia forward with strength and a firm commitment to the University’s cherished values.”
FILE – A demonstrator protests outside the encampment established in support of Palestinians in Gaza at Columbia University on April 29, 2024, in New York City. (Alex Kent/Getty Images)
“I am honored and thrilled to join Columbia University at this important moment,” Mnookin said upon her appointment. “Columbia is defined by rigorous scholarship, a deep commitment to open inquiry, world-class patient care, and an inseparable and enduring connection to New York City, the greatest city in the world.”
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She sent her first message to students on Monday.
“The last several years have been challenging ones for higher education, certainly including Columbia,” Mnookin reportedly wrote in an email. “Having had the privilege for the past few years of leading a public flagship university in a complex time, I well understand the significant uncertainties and heightened scrutiny many universities are now facing.”
FILE – Columbia University students participate in an anti-Israel encampment on their campus on April 25, 2024, in New York City. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
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Last July, Columbia reached a more than $200 million settlement with the Trump administration over discrimination against Jewish students on campus.
“I’m very pleased that we were able to bring those negotiations to a close and have an excellent working agreement now with Columbia. They knew they had an antisemitism problem,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said at the time.
Columbia did not immediately return a request for comment.