CNN
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House Republican Leadership Chairwoman Elise Stefanik is criticizing Columbia University’s president over past comments that the congresswoman said are a potential violation of the Civil Rights Act, including her call to have an Arab person on the university board, as the university faces continued investigations into its handling of antisemitism on campus.
In a letter sent to acting university president Claire Shipman on Tuesday, Stefanik and GOP Rep. Tim Walberg, chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee, pointed to a message from January 17, 2024, where Shipman – then the chair of Columbia University’s board of trustees – said the university needed “to get somebody from the middle east [sic] or who is Arab on our board,” adding, “Quickly I think. Somehow.”
Stefanik and Walberg asked Shipman to clarify her comment, adding: “Were Columbia to act on this suggestion and appoint someone to the board specifically because of their national origin, it would implicate Title VI concerns.”
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin in programs or activities receiving federal funding.
The letter also points to Shipman’s criticism of Jewish board member Shoshana Shendelman, whom Stefanik and Walberg claim is one of the board’s “most outspoken members against the bullying, harassment, and intimidation of Jewish students.”
Shipman said of Shendelman in January 25, 2024, according to the letter: “I just don’t think she should be on the board.”
The committee says the comment raises “the question of why you appeared to be in favor of removing one of the board’s most outspoken Jewish advocates at a time when Columbia students were facing a shocking level of fear and hostility.”
In a statement, a Columbia University spokesperson said, “These communications were provided to the Committee in the fall of 2024 and reflect communications from more than a year ago. They are now being published out of context and reflect a particularly difficult moment in time for the University when leaders across Columbia were intensely focused on addressing significant challenges.”
“This work is ongoing, and to be clear: Columbia is deeply committed to combating antisemitism and working with the federal government on this very serious issue, including our ongoing discussions to reach an agreement with the Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism,” the spokesperson added, referring to the Trump administration task force that is investigating antisemitism on campus. “Acting President Claire Shipman has been vocally and visibly committed to eradicating antisemitism on campus; the work underway at the university to create a safe and welcoming environment for all community members makes that plain.”
In the letter, the committee cited a message from October 30, 2023 – weeks after the October 7 Hamas attack – where Shipman said to then-president Minouche Shafik, “People are really frustrated and scared about antisemitism on our campus and they feel somehow betrayed by it. Which is not necessarily a rational feeling but it’s deep and it is quite threatening.”
Stefanik and Walberg wrote in the letter to Shipman, “Your description—that people feel ‘somehow’ betrayed and that this is ‘not necessarily a rational feeling,’ but that it is ‘threatening’—is perplexing, considering the violence and harassment against Jewish and Israeli students already occurring on Columbia’s campus at the time.”
The letter comes as the Trump administration has accused dozens of US universities of tolerating antisemitism. The Trump administration previously alleged that Columbia violated Title VI by acting with “deliberate indifference” towards harassment of Jewish students on campus since October 2023.
For months, Columbia has faced intense pressure from Republicans, including President Donald Trump, over its handling of antisemitism on campus. In March, the Trump administration canceled $400 million in federal funding over campus protests.
The university has since made apparent concessions, including restrictions on demonstrations, new disciplinary procedures and immediately reviewing its Middle East curriculum.
Last month, the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights escalated its fight with the university, declaring the school doesn’t meet accreditation standards because of its failure to protect Jewish students.
CNN’s Emma Tucker contributed to this report.
