The Columbia University faculty rights group criticized the way the administration handled an anti-Israel protest in the campus library, where many people were arrested.
In a letter from the executive committee of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) at Columbia, concerns were raised about a decision made by acting president Claire Shipman to involve the NYPD, which was seen as undermining shared governance.
The demonstration occurred on Wednesday afternoon as anti-Israel protesters entered Butler Library, took over a reading room, and forced their way through one of the building’s doors, leading to two campus police officers getting hurt.
The NYPD said 80 arrests were made, and Fox News learned approximately 50 of those people were confirmed to be Columbia students.
Prior to Wednesday’s protest, Shipman had said she would be reviewing and reforming the University Senate, which is a governing body at Columbia made up of elected representatives from all departments on campus, amid negotiations with the federal government over the drastic cut in funding to the university.
In March, Columbia lost more than $400 million in federal grants after the Trump administration said the school failed to address the rise in antisemitism on campus.
President Donald Trump is pushing back on anti-Israel protests on college campuses, including Columbia University, by withholding $400 million in federal funding. (Getty Images)
The AAUP called on her not to follow through with the review as the university is experiencing a “moment of crisis,” adding that it “strenuously objects to both the timing and the plan” for it.
“In imposing this review at this time and in this manner, the President and the Board of Trustees are taking aim at shared governance and replacing it with top-down corporate management, indicating a profound misunderstanding of what university leadership and fiduciary obligations require,” the group said.
The group shared a list of six recommendations, which call for a “unified response to the current crisis” instead of dismantling the decision-making structures that have been in place for decades.
Protest stickers were put on the doors at Butler Library at Columbia University’s campus on May 7, 2025 in New York City. (Indy Scholtens/Getty Images)
The AAUP has also been vocal in its criticism of Columbia for punishing, suspending and expelling students involved in anti-Israel protests on campus.
One of the group’s recommendations includes radically enhancing “mediation, consultation and de-escalation protocols for immediate deployment during campus disturbances, especially student protests.”
