(JEWISH GROUP) Acting Columbia president Claire Shipman apologizes for texts suggesting removal of a Jewish trustee

The acting president of Columbia University apologized to members of the school community Wednesday after leaked text messages showed she had suggested the removal of a Jewish trustee.

“The things I said in a moment of frustration and stress were wrong. They do not reflect how I feel,” Claire Shipman wrote in a private email obtained by Jewish Insider and referring to an exchange that occurred before she was named acting president.

The apology comes after the House Committee on Education and Workforce sent a letter to Shipman Tuesday lambasting her for leaked correspondences in which she criticized Shoshana Shendelman, a Jewish member of Columbia’s Board of Trustees and vocal critic of the university’s handling of antisemitism allegations.

Columbia faced intense pressure from the federal government to address allegations of discrimination by some Jewish and Israeli students.

In the messages, which were dated from 2023 and 2024, Shipman also separately suggested the appointment of an “Arab on our board.”

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