Columbia University Deans Step Down After Disparaging Texts During Anti-Semitism Meeting

A security guard at Columbia University in a file image after the school's graduation ceremony was canceled in the wake of pro-Palestine protests. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Several deans at Columbia University have resigned after exchanging texts disparaging Jews during an event exploring anti-Semitism on the New York school’s campus.

A university spokesperson said on Aug. 8 that three deans who exchanged the messages have stepped down.

Columbia officials said in July the administrators were being removed from their positions at Columbia College and would be on leave after officials learned of the texts, which were sent during an alumni event titled “Jewish Life on Campus: Past, Present, and Future.”

In a group text, the deans wrote that Jewish students came from a “place of privilege” and that it was difficult to hear about “woe is me.”

One dean said a speaker on the panel, Israeli human rights activist Natan Sharansky, was “tak[ing] full advantage of this moment” because there was “huge fundraising potential.”

“This incident revealed behavior and sentiments that were not only unprofessional, but also, disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes,” Columbia President Minouche Shafik said on July 8. “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 that is antithetical to our University’s values and the standards we must uphold in our community.”

The panel was held at an annual alumni event weeks after university leaders called in police to clear pro-Palestinian protesters from an occupied administration building and dismantle a tent encampment that had threatened to disrupt graduation ceremonies.

The Washington Free Beacon first published portions of the group text in photographs captured by event attendees sitting near the deans. A U.S. House of Representatives panel later published some of the messages.

“Jewish students deserve better than to have harassment and threats against them dismissed as ‘privilege,’ and Jewish faculty members deserve better than to be mocked by their colleagues,” Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), chairwoman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, said in a statement after obtaining the texts. “These text messages once again confirm the need for serious accountability across Columbia’s campus.”

The administrators have not commented publicly since their messages became public. Two of them—Cristen Kromm, the former dean of undergraduate student life, and Matthew Patashnick, the former associate dean for student and family support—did not immediately respond to phone messages seeking comment. The third, Susan Chang-Kim, could not immediately be reached.

Shafik has promised to launch a “vigorous program of antisemitism and antidiscrimination training for faculty and staff” in the fall, as well as related training for students.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.