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The University of Columbia will revise the aspects of its governance following the pressure of the Trump administration which aroused fears of restrictions on academic freedom in the United States.
Friday, Katrina Armstrong, acting president of Columbia, described Friday a series of measures – in particular the centralization of disciplinary procedures against students and the appointment of a senior official to “review” her regional study programs, starting with those covering the Middle East.
“At all times, we are guided by our values, by putting academic freedom, freedom of expression, an open investigation and the respect of all in the foreground of each decision we take,” said Armstrong in a press release
This decision, which was criticized by the Faculty and the National Academic Associations of the Ivy League institution, followed a fierce campaign led by Republicans alleging anti -Semitism on his New York campus launched by demonstrations after the attack on Hamas on October 7, 2023 in Israel and the Israel offensive in Gaza.
Federal officials withdrew $ 400 million in Columbia funding at the beginning of the month and threatened to reduce future financial support, unless the university quickly responds to a series of reform requests.
This triggered a week of intense negotiations which included the pressure of Columbia lawyers to prevent academic associations from launching legal challenges to the validity of the Trump administration requests.
THE measures Friday, initiatives such as the centralization of the discipline of students, the ban on masks that hide the identity of the demonstrators and the appointment of a superior vice-practitioner to examine “all aspects” of leadership, curriculum and the appointments of non-holder teachers and ensure that program offers are “complete and balanced”.
However, the University has prevented from responding to the government’s requests from imposing a formal “academic creation” in the Department of Middle East Studies, South Asia and African for five years and to abolish its Judicial Board of Directors. Instead, the president will have much tighter control over members of the board of directors.
Michael Thaddeus, vice-president of the Columbia section of the American Association of University Professors, described “deeply disappointing and alarming measures”.
Speaking on a personal basis, he said: “The appointment of a new vice-proprovost for regional studies should not be used to control the content of research and teaching on controversial subjects in Columbia. This would strike at the heart of our academic freedom.”
Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American colleges and universities association, said: “This undermines the strength of American higher education, which implies the lack of unjustified government intrusion and excessive political influence on the program.”
In a nod to the concerns of the Republicans and certain academics that many American universities have become dominated by the teachers with more progressive opinions, Columbia also promised that his research of new teachers “will be extended to ensure intellectual diversity through our courses and our scholarships”.
He noted that there had been a recent slowdown in Jewish and African-American inscriptions, and said: “We will examine these questions.”
