Dive Brief:
- Columbia University has permanently removed three deans from their positions over text messages its president described as “very troubling,” the Ivy League institution announced Monday.
- In June, Columbia said it was investigating text exchanges among employees during a May 31 panel discussion about the experiences of Jewish students. Snippets of the conversation were first made public after a panel attendee took photos of the phone screen of Susan Chang-Kim, Columbia’s vice dean and chief administrative officer.
- The Ivy League institution placed the staff members on leave during the investigation, where they now remain — but without their titles, according to Monday’s announcement.
Dive Insight:
President Minouche Shafik decried the texts on Monday.
“This incident revealed behavior and sentiments that were not only unprofessional, but also, disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes,” Shafik said in a statement. “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.”
Columbia on Monday did not name the staff members it had removed from their posts and did not make clear if they would eventually be terminated.
But the text messages included four participants: Chang-Kim, Cristen Kromm, dean of undergraduate student life; Matthew Patashnick, associate dean for student and family support; and Josef Sorett, the dean of Columbia College.
North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican who chairs the House education committee, publicly shared the text messages last week after demanding Columbia turn them over.
In a May 31 group text with Kromm and Patashnick, Chang-Kim said the panelists made the administration “look like jokers.”
The panel, held as part of the university’s alumni weekend, included David Schizer, dean emeritus and law and economics professor at Columbia; Brian Cohen, executive director of Columbia’s Hillel center; Ian Rottenberg, dean of religious life at Columbia; and Rebecca Massel, a deputy news editor of the Columbia Daily Spectator, the university’s student newspaper.
During the panel, Chang-Kim texted that the speakers’ comments came “from such a place of privilege.”
“Hard to hear the woe is me, we need to huddle at the Kraft center,” she wrote, referring to the Jewish student center that houses Hillel at Columbia.
Kromm made similar complaints, criticizing the panelists for ignoring the lack of community space for Jewish students who don’t support Israel. Hillel, as an organization, strongly supports Israel.
Kromm also noted that one of the panelists had “access to senior leadership of the university when most senior school leaders do not.”
“If only every identity community had these resources and support,” Kromm wrote.
Patashnick texted that one of the panelists knew “exactly what he’s doing and how to take full advantage of this moment.” It’s unclear to which participant he was referring.
“Huge fundraising potential,” Patashnick wrote.
In a direct message to Sorett, Chang-Kim texted that “this is difficult to listen to but I’m trying to keep an open mind to learn about this point of view.”
“Yup,” Sorett responded.
Columbia indicated Sorett — the most senior employee of the group and the one who texted the least in the exchanges that were made public — would stay in his role. The university did not place him on leave when the messages first leaked.
“He has apologized and taken full responsibility, committing to the work and collaboration necessary to heal the community and learn from this moment, and make sure nothing like this ever happens again,” Angela Olinto, provost at Columbia, said Monday.
The university also announced a forthcoming employee training program on antisemitism and antidiscrimination that will launch this fall. It plans to introduce related training for students.