Columbia University honors economist Nemat Shafik as first female president
Columbia University said in a statement Wednesday that the selection of Nemat Shafik ends a search process that began after Lee C. Bollinger announced he would leave his position as president at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year.
5 Points About Columbia University’s 20th President
-
Shafik, an economist whose career has focused on public policy and academia, will become the 20th chair of the organization. Columbia University on July 1 and is the first woman to hold the position in the university’s 268-year history.
-
Ms. Shafik earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Oxford.
-
Ms. Shafik began her career at the World Bank, becoming the youngest vice president ever at the age of 36. She later also served as the deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund and is a top official in the UK’s Department for International Development.
-
Shafik’s appointment comes after other educational institutions have also recently appointed women to head top universities, including Harvard University, which last month appointed Claudine Gay as its new president. Gay became the first black woman to hold the top position at Harvard.
-
According to the London School of EconomicsNemat (Minouche) Shafik has served and chaired numerous boards and is currently a Fellow of the British Museum, the Board of Supervisors of Siemens, the Council of the Institute of Fiscal Studies and the Economic Honors Committee.
Featured video of the day
‘The time has come’: New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern to step down as Prime Minister next month
