Columbia University plans to reform certain governance aspects due to pressure from the Trump administration, which has led to concerns about potential restrictions on academic freedom within the United States. On Friday, Columbia’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, announced several measures, including centralizing the disciplinary procedures for students and appointing a senior official to review its regional studies programs, initially focusing on those related to the Middle East.
Armstrong emphasized that their decisions are consistently guided by values such as academic freedom, free expression, open inquiry, and respect for all. The decision, however, faced criticism from the faculty of the Ivy League institution and national academic associations. It followed an intensive campaign by Republicans, who accused the university of antisemitism on its New York City campus due to protests after the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas in Israel and the subsequent Israeli response in Gaza.
Earlier this month, federal officials withdrew $400 million in funding from Columbia, threatening to withhold future financial support unless the university complied with a series of reform demands. This resulted in a week of intense negotiations, during which Columbia’s legal team worked to prevent academic associations from legally challenging the Trump administration’s demands.
The measures announced on Friday include initiatives like centralizing student discipline, banning masks that conceal protestors’ identities, and appointing a senior vice-provost to review all aspects of leadership, curriculum, and non-tenured faculty appointments to ensure programs are comprehensive and balanced. However, Columbia did not fully comply with the government’s demands to impose a formal “academic receivership” on its department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African studies for five years, nor did it abolish its judicial board. Instead, the president will exert tighter control over the board’s membership.
Michael Thaddeus, vice-president of the Columbia chapter of the American Association of University Professors, expressed disappointment and alarm at the measures. Speaking personally, he warned against using the new senior vice-provost for regional studies to control research and teaching content on contentious topics, which could undermine academic freedom.
Lynn Pasquerella, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, stated that these actions weaken American higher education by compromising its freedom from unjust governmental and political influence over the curriculum. Concerns from Republicans and some academics about the domination of progressive opinions in American universities prompted Columbia to commit to expanding faculty searches to ensure intellectual diversity. Lastly, Columbia acknowledged recent declines in both Jewish and African American enrollment and stated that these issues would be thoroughly examined.
