Columbia Names Jennifer Mnookin 21st President as 58-Year-Old Crisis Manager Takes Over Wednesday
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 30
Columbia Names Jennifer Mnookin 21st President as 58-Year-Old Crisis Manager Takes Over Wednesday
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 30
Summary
Jennifer Mnookin, 58, will become Columbia University's 21st president on Wednesday after trustees chose the Wisconsin-Madison chancellor for her record handling campus unrest.
In a 2024 pro-Palestinian encampment at Wisconsin, Mnookin first sent police in—34 people were arrested—then shifted to nine days of talks that ended the protest peacefully.
Mnookin said she will bring a "principled pragmatist" style centered on dialogue and negotiation to a campus still recovering from repeated turmoil.
Columbia's own 2024 encampment crisis led to more than 200 arrests, and the university is still managing a deal with the Trump administration that tightened protest rules and cost $200 million to restore federal research funding.