Columbia University on Monday placed three administrators on leave over leaked text exchanges in which they played down concerns about campus antisemitism and mocked the university’s rabbi during a panel on Jewish life at Columbia.
As panelists shared their experiences of antisemitism on campus, the administrators exchanged mocking texts — captured in photos by a person in attendance and shared with the Washington Free Beacon — in which they suggested that critics were using the issue of antisemitism for its “fundraising potential.”
The administrators — Columbia College vice dean and chief administrative officer Susan Chang-Kim, dean of undergraduate student life Cristen Kromm, and associate dean for student and family support Matthew Patashnick — have been placed on indefinite leave and will not return to their positions, though they are technically still employed by the university. Columbia College dean Josef Sorett, the highest-ranking administrator involved in the text exchanges, “will be writing to the Columbia College community separately” and will keep his job as dean.
Columbia president Minouche Shafik — the much-derided leader whose April testimony in front of the House Education and Workforce Committee coincided with the establishment of the first anti-Israel encampment in the country — announced the decision in a Monday morning statement.
“This incident revealed behavior and sentiments that were not only unprofessional, but also, disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes,” Shafik wrote. “Whether intended as such or not, these sentiments are unacceptable and deeply upsetting, conveying a lack of seriousness about the concerns and the experiences of members of our Jewish community that is antithetical to our University’s values and the standards we must uphold in our community.”
Provost Angela Olinto followed up on Shafik’s message, writing that “the three staff members involved have been permanently removed from their positions at Columbia College and remain on leave at this time.”
Sorett sent a note to Columbia’s alumni board on June 14 in which he stated — without addressing his own participation in the text exchange — that the administrators’ comments did not “indicate the views of any individual or the team” and claimed the messages were “not emblematic of the totality of their work.”
When Chang-Kim mockingly referred to Columbia Hillel director Brian Cohen as “our hero,” Sorett replied, “LMAO.” In another message, Chang-Kim responded with vomit emojis to the mention of an op-ed on antisemitism by the campus rabbi.
A group of Columbia students, alumni, and others associated with the university published an open letter to Shafik and the board of trustees last week — that has since garnered over 1,000 signatures — calling on the university to remove all four administrators from their roles.
“All four of the deans implicated must be held accountable and terminated,” the letter reads. “This incident exposes a profound issue at Columbia that cannot be dismissed. Failure to address this quickly can only be interpreted as a lack of seriousness and urgency in dealing with campus antisemitism within Columbia’s administration.”
Speaking with National Review in June, Columbia law professor and co-chair of the university’s antisemitism task force David Schizer said the school’s administration can only assure its Jewish community that it takes antisemitism seriously through enforcing its disciplinary policies.
Schizer told NR that many student activists believe they can act with impunity, even when their behavior creates a hostile environment for Jewish students on Columbia’s campus.
Given the text messages between administrators and the university’s decision to reassign and place three out of four on leave rather than terminate the individuals, that belief may be shared by staff as well.