The College Fix

UPDATED

Columbia University interim President Katrina Armstrong stepped down from her position on Friday, just seven months after the resignation of President Minouche Shafik.

Former ABC and CNN journalist Claire Shipman, who was serving as co-chair of Columbia’s Board of Trustees, will replace Armstrong effective immediately, the university said in a statement.

Armstrong will return to her previous position as head of the school’s Irving Medical Center, according to The Washington Free Beacon.

Shipman (pictured), was married to former Obama administration Press Secretary Jay Carney, holds degrees from Columbia in Russian Studies and International Affairs.

According to the Columbia Spectator, Shipman worked at CNN for a decade where she earned a Peabody Award for her coverage of the USSR’s dissolution. After a brief stint at NBC News, she moved to ABC in 2001 to become “Good Morning America’s” senior national correspondent.

Shipman was part of the Columbia contingent that testified before Congress last year regarding antisemitism on campus. When pressed by a Democratic member of the House about “other types of discrimination” at the school, Shipman replied “what we see most routinely right now is political speech crossing the line into antisemitism and we’ve got to figure that out.”

In the university statement about her appointment, Shipman said “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.”

Just prior to stepping down, Armstrong had agreed to implement changes requested by the Trump administration in hopes of restoring over $400 million in federal funding to Columbia.

But last weekend in a Zoom discussion with 75 Columbia faculty, Armstrong and Provost Angela Olinto “downplayed or denied that change was underway,” according to the Free Beacon.

Armstrong herself noted “no changes” had been made regarding the wearing of masks at protests, despite an announcement noting “public safety has determined that face masks or face coverings are not allowed for the purpose of concealing one’s identity in the commission of violations of University policies …”

Several faculty “described a sense of befuddlement” over the contradictions, with one saying there was “a massive disconnect” between what was said in the Zoom meeting and Armstrong’s prior announcement.

Editor’s note: The status of Shipman’s marriage has been updated.

MORE: Columbia president says ‘sorry’ for police at encampments

IMAGE CAPTION & CREDIT: Claire Shipman poses for the camera; Claire Shipman/X

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