The Wall St. Journal published a report based on a transcript of a meeting at Columbia between Interim President Armstrong and faculty. In it, she both argues that she had no real choice but to agree and also downplays some of the conditions in the resolution agreement she had agreed to with federal agencies:
“The ability of the federal administration to leverage other forms of federal funding in an immediate fashion is really potentially devastating to our students in particular,” Armstrong said, according to a transcript of the meetings reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. “I think it is a really critical risk for us to understand.”
Lawyers for the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights are scheduled to visit campus and question faculty this week about potential violations of federal civil rights laws, people familiar with the matter said.
...In the weekend talks, Armstrong told the faculty Columbia hasn’t taken any legal options off the table. In a statement Monday, the federal task force that negotiated the agreement with Columbia said the school’s initial steps were positive but “they must continue to show that they are serious.”
...Medical and research faculty, who are most affected by federal cuts, are angry they are bearing most of the financial brunt for the political activism of more liberal co-workers in arts and humanities. Many also believe Columbia hasn’t adequately protected Jewish students. Arts and social sciences professors worry more about ceding independence to Trump, suffering reputational damage and not yielding to what they perceive as an authoritarian erosion of civil liberties. Some criticized Armstrong for not taking a harder line with President Trump.
...One professor said the situation wasn’t just a crisis for Columbia but was “the biggest crisis since the founding of the republic,” according to a transcript. He said he found it puzzling that Armstrong and fellow university leaders hadn’t banded together to issue a unified statement.
...In the conversations with faculty, Armstrong also downplayed the changes agreed to with the Trump team. One issue Armstrong highlighted was the mask policy. While Columbia’s letter to the Trump team agreed to ban masks that conceal identity during unauthorized protests, Armstrong told faculty there was no mask ban.
...Several faculty complained the administration was engaged in strategic ambiguity by sending mixed signals to different constituencies—one for the public and one for faculty.
...Among Trump’s demands was placing Columbia’s department of Middle East Studies in receivership—meaning a chair from outside the department oversees decisions such as faculty hiring and curricula. Columbia’s agreement with Trump pledged to appoint a senior vice provost to “ensure the educational offerings are comprehensive and balanced.” Over the weekend, Armstrong and her team said that appointment wouldn’t impact how the department operates...
Full story at https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/columbia-trump-faculty-meetings-38a65fff.
