据美国多家新闻报道，哥伦比亚大学校长米努什·沙菲克（Minouche Shafik）周三宣布立即辞职。
她是第三位在以色列-哈马斯战争影响下下台的常青藤盟校校长。哈佛大学校长克劳丁·盖伊（Claudine Gay）和宾夕法尼亚大学校长利兹·马吉尔（Liz Magill）此前因校园抗议活动后宣布辞职。
左：克劳丁·盖伊 右：利兹·马吉尔
米努什·沙菲克的辞职信
Dear members of the Columbia community,
I write with sadness to tell you that I am stepping down as president of Columbia University effective August 14, 2024. I have had the honor and privilege to lead this incredible institution, and I believe that—working together—we have made progress in a number of important areas. However, it has also been a period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community. This period has taken a considerable toll on my family, as it has for others in our community. Over the summer, I have been able to reflect and have decided that my moving on at this point would best enable Columbia to traverse the challenges ahead. I am making this announcement now so that new leadership can be in place before the new term begins.
My whole professional life has been devoted to public service and my time at Columbia has been an important part of that commitment. In terms of next steps, I am honored to have been asked by the UK’s Foreign Secretary to chair a review of the government’s approach to international development and how to improve capability. I am very pleased and appreciative that this will afford me the opportunity to return to work on fighting global poverty and promoting sustainable development, areas of lifelong interest to me. It also enables me to return to the House of Lords to reengage with the important legislative agenda put forth by the new UK government.
I have informed the Board of Trustees, and I would like to express my immense appreciation to them for their support. I am committed to working with the Interim President to ensure an orderly transition. I also want to pay tribute to the deans, the University Leadership Team, and the staff of the President’s Office with whom I have worked so closely this last year; they have and will continue to do an extraordinary job for our students, faculty, researchers, staff, and community.
During my inauguration, I spoke of Columbia as an exemplar of a great 21st century university committed to educating leaders and citizens, generating knowledge and ideas to solve problems, and engaging at the local and global level to deliver real impact in improving people’s lives. As president, I have been proud to witness Columbia making so many contributions to delivering that vital mission. I also spoke about the values and principles which are dear to me and, I know, to the Columbia community as well: academic freedom and free speech; openness to ideas; and zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind—including gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, or ethnicity. This mission, and the values and principles underpinning it, constitute our North Star. Even as tension, division, and politicization have disrupted our campus over the last year, our core mission and values endure and will continue to guide us in meeting the challenges ahead.
I have tried to navigate a path that upholds academic principles and treats everyone with fairness and compassion. It has been distressing—for the community, for me as president and on a personal level—to find myself, colleagues, and students the subject of threats and abuse. As President Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand”—we must do all we can to resist the forces of polarization in our community. I remain optimistic that differences can be overcome through the honest exchange of views, truly listening, and—always—by treating each other with dignity and respect. Again, Columbia’s core mission to create and acquire knowledge, with our values as foundation, will lead us there.
That is what we owe each other.
I want to conclude by thanking the entire Columbia community for their support and understanding. This is truly one of the world’s great institutions with a proud history and legacy of achievement. Having come to know and work with the amazing people here—passionate, intelligent, committed—I have no doubt that Columbia’s future will be even more illustrious.
My profound thanks for the privilege of serving you.
Sincerely,
Minouche Shafik
从任职到离职，短短的充满动荡的13个月，沙菲克主要做了什么事呢？因为什么原因离职呢？
2023年沙菲克任哥大校长
2023年1月18日，哥伦比亚大学官网宣布，米努什·沙菲克（Minouche Shafik）将担任哥大下任校长——成为该校269年历史上首位女校长，也是当前常春藤八所盟校中的第6位女校长。米努切·沙菲克（Minouche Shafik）将于2023年7月1日正式就任。
她曾是伦敦政治经济学院（London School of Economics）的负责人，在此之前，她曾在世界银行工作，并一路晋升，成为该银行有史以来最年轻的副行长。沙菲克还曾在英国国际开发部工作，随后在国际货币基金组织和英格兰银行工作。
在沙菲克被任命时，哥伦比亚大学董事会主席乔纳森·拉文（Jonathan Lavine）将她描述为一位深刻理解“学院及其以外的世界”的领导者。
拉文在一份声明中说：“米努什作为候选人的与众不同之处在于，她对高等教育机构在解决世界上最复杂的问题方面能够而且必须发挥的重要作用有着不可动摇的信心。
校园抗议活动是沙菲克辞职的主要原因
沙菲克在信中写到，这也是一个动荡的时期，我们很难克服整个社区的不同观点，并说明校园抗议活动是其辞职的主要原因。
2024年4月至6月，在美国广泛的以色列-哈马斯战争相关抗议活动的背景下，纽约市哥伦比亚大学发生了一系列亲巴勒斯坦学生的占领抗议活动。亲巴勒斯坦学生在哥伦比亚大学校园内建立了加沙团结营地，要求大学从与以色列有财务联系的公司撤资。
不久后，哥伦比亚大学校长沙菲克在华盛顿特区举行的众议院教育和劳动力委员会关于大学校园反犹太主义的听证会上作证。
18日，沙菲克因授权纽约市警察局进入校园，导致100多名学生被捕和营地拆除而受到两方人士的抨击。
一方面，她被指控在保护犹太学生免受歧视和骚扰方面做得不够，批评人士说，当她4月份出现在众议院教育委员会面前回答诸如某些口号是否会被视为反犹太主义等问题时，人们感到困惑。
另一方面，其他人则认为，当她打电话给警察清理他们的营地和占领一栋建筑物时，她对亲巴勒斯坦学生的打击太大了。
尽管营地被拆除，抗议者很快在校园内重建了营地，并持续进行抗议活动。4月30日，数十名学生占领了汉密尔顿大厅，抗议随之升级。
沙菲克再次授权纽约警察局第二次清扫校园。警方逮捕了300多名抗议者，并投掷烟雾弹，这引起了教职员工的谴责，数百名教职员工走出课堂，抗议大学对抗议活动的回应，并导致课程取消和转向混合学习模式。
在经历了一系列的抗议活动、逮捕、教职员工的反对和校园内外的紧张局势后，沙菲克于8月14日宣布辞去校长职务。
哥伦比亚大学感谢沙菲克
在任职期间所做的贡献
哥伦比亚大学董事会在给大学社区的一封电子邮件中表示，它“遗憾地接受了沙菲克辞去大学校长职务的决定。沙菲克在一个非常具有挑战性的时期为哥伦比亚社区做出了如此多的贡献，并且是一位出色的同事和朋友。虽然我们对她离开我们感到失望，但我们理解并尊重她的决定。”
在这一艰难的一年里，沙菲克为大学取得了一系列重大成就，包括一套关于学术卓越、运营效率和社区设计的战略举措，旨在帮助学校蓬勃发展。同时，她为哥伦比亚大学招募了优秀人才:新教务长、新首席运营官、法学院和艺术学院院长以及数据科学研究所主任。
沙菲克还任命了该校有史以来的第一位首席气候官，将可持续性和气候行动的承诺嵌入到哥伦比亚大学工作的方方面面。哥伦比亚大学对她所做的一切充满感谢。
至于对留学生来说，校长的离任并不会对我们的学习生活造成任何影响，同学们可以照常申请。
作为美国最古老的五所大学之一，八所常春藤盟校之一。哥伦比亚大学的含金量非常高，无论是学术水平、专业设置、还是校园环境和基础设施，都体现了其在全球教育领域的重要地位和影响力。
像哥大这样的TOP名校，它的准入门槛越来越高，如何在众多申请中脱颖而出？要在激烈的申请竞争中获得优势，关键在于强化和提升个人背景。
这通常意味着要在学术成绩上力求卓越，获取优秀的GPA和标准化考试成绩。同时，积累与所申请领域相关的学术经验，如高含金量的国际竞赛。
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* 以上赛事主办方为海外机构，不与任何中国的大学、中学或小学升学加分活动挂钩，其成绩不会作为任何中国中小学升学或评优的依据，仅定位为针对中学生的课外兴趣活动和国际教学交流活动。
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