Full List of College Presidents Who Have Resigned Amid Campus Protests

Columbia University President Minouche Shafik resigned from her post Wednesday after a tumultuous tenure marked by criticism over her handling of student protests of Israel’s war in Gaza.
Shafik is the latest university president, and the third Ivy League leader, to step down over controversies surrounding the management of student protests related to the conflict.
Campuses are hotspots of activism, protests and mobilization, and Israel’s war in Gaza, which the United States supports through military and diplomatic aid, has intensified tensions, leading to mass protests on many campuses. Some protestors called for divestment and an end to the ongoing bombardment of Gaza, while others vocalized concerns about feeling unsafe and experiencing antisemitism.
College presidents have faced scrutiny over their responses to the war and subsequent protests and student activities. They have been under pressure from students, donors, board members, parents and advocacy groups.
A fourth Ivy League president, Cornell’s Martha Pollack also resigned but said she had been “deliberating” prior to the protests.
On August 14, Shafik resigned from her top post after a little more than a year in the role, describing her time as a “period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across the community.”
She faced criticism from supporters on both sides of the conflict. In April and May, some pro-Palestinian protesters occupied parts of the campus, which led to hundreds of arrests and police crackdowns that demonstrators widely condemned and blamed on Shafik. Pro-Israel supporters argued that she didn’t take strong enough action against the protesters.
Magill served as the University of Pennsylvania’s president from July 2022 until her resignation in December 2023. She faced criticism from some students, donors and board members for what they perceived as a failure to address antisemitism on campus following the outbreak of the war.
Along with other university presidents, including Claudine Gay of Harvard and Sally Kornbluth of MIT, Magill testified before Congress on December 5 about antisemitism on college campuses. While she condemned antisemitism in her testimony, her responses were criticized as evasive.
An exchange with Republican Representative Elise Stefanik, who asked whether “calling for the genocide of Jews” would violate the school’s code of conduct, sparked further controversy. Magill responded, “If the speech turns into conduct, it can be harassment, yes,” adding after being pressed, “It is a context-dependent decision, congresswoman.”
Four days later, she announced her resignation.
Gay, the university’s first Black president, resigned six months after being appointed position—the shortest tenure in Harvard’s history.
Calls for her resignation came after the university faced criticism for its response to the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and her congressional testimony.
Unlike other recently resigned presidents, she also faced plagiarism accusations that piled on after scrutiny of her handling of the protests.
Pollack, who served as the university’s president for seven years, announced in May that she would be retiring on June 30.
While her resignation came during a period of campus protests, where disciplinary actions were taken against some pro-Palestinian student protesters, she emphasized in her resignation statement, “I understand that there will be lots of speculation about my decision, so let me be as clear as I can: This decision is mine and mine alone.
“Indeed, I began deliberating about this last fall and made the decision over the December break; but three times, as I was ready to act on it, I had to pause because of events on our and/or on other campuses. But continued delay is not in the university’s best interests.”