Columbia University names Nemat “Minush” Shafiq as first female president

Columbia University named Nemat “Minush” Shafiq as its 20th president — and the first woman to lead the school in its 268-year history, the university announced Wednesday.

Shafiq, an economist with a career in public policy and academia, came to Columbia University from the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she has served as president since 2017.

“At the LSE, she has overseen a significant improvement in the student learning environment and led significant expansion and infrastructure projects while keeping a close eye on the LSE’s academic mission,” the Board of Trustees letter announcing her appointment reads.

“As she has throughout her career, Minush has established herself as a tireless advocate for diversity and inclusion, as well as a creative and thoughtful leader, committed to developing and unlocking talent and teams for the benefit of society.”

Columbia University will nominate Nemat

Shafik was born in Egypt but fled the country when she was 4 years old due to the political and economic crisis.

“When my family left Alexandria, where I was born in the early 1960s, my father, who, like his father, had a PhD in chemistry, told me: “They can take everything from you except education,” Shafik said at a press conference at the Columbia School of Journalism on Wednesday.

“For a family that was forced to start over, education was our salvation – as it was for many students at Columbia University.”

Shafik began her career in the 1990s at the World Bank and became its youngest vice president when she was 36 years old. She has also served as Permanent Secretary of the UK Department for International Development, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund and Deputy Governor of the Bank of England.

Previously, she taught at the Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania and in the economics department at Georgetown University.

After months-long presidential elections, during which 600 candidates were considered, Shafik takes the reins from Lee Bollinger, who served as president of the university for 21 years.

“I feel like if I were looking around the world for the best person to lead Colombia, I would choose Minoosh Shafiq,” Bollinger said in a statement. “Her experience, her experience – both personal and professional – and her overall outlook on academic and public life make her appointment an inspiring one.”

“I extend my warmest congratulations and best wishes to her as she takes on what I consider to be the best job in the world,” he said.

A university press release said at least one central principle will not change during Shafiq’s tenure – the core curriculum at Columbia University. She called the university’s general education requirements “a foundation of citizenship” and said they help students develop “the ability to think for themselves.”

FILE - A woman walks on the campus of Columbia University on Monday, March 9, 2020, in New York City.

The letter from the Board of Trustees said that Shafiq’s “unshakable confidence” in the role of higher education in solving the world’s problems singles her out as a candidate – her recent book “What We Owe to Each Other: A New Social Contract” is cited as one example. .

“In Colombia, this call to action will not only enrich our educational and research mission, but also enhance our role as a neighbor and civic partner,” the letter says.

Ivy repeatedly generated controversy over strained relations with the surrounding community in Morningside Heights.

“Involvement is even more important to overcome skepticism in some quarters about what and whether universities are truly making a positive contribution to society,” Shafik said on Wednesday.

“For Colombia, this commitment starts with our neighboring communities and extends around the world – because we are at a moment in history where universities need to be both scientific and relevant.”

Raised in the United States, she earned a BA in Economics and Politics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, an MA in Economics from the London School of Economics, and a PhD in Economics from the University of Oxford.

She will become president of the university on July 1.

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