Dear Colleagues,
As I planned when I took on this interim position, and with the support of the Board of Trustees, I am returning to my role as Chief Executive Officer of Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center, Executive Vice President for Health and Biomedical Sciences, and Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and Medicine and the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. The Board has now appointed Co-Chair Claire Shipman as the Acting President, effective immediately.
It has been a singular honor to lead Columbia University in this important and challenging time. This is one of the world’s great universities, in its most vital city, and I am proud to have worked with extraordinary faculty, students, and alumni. But my heart is with science, and my passion is with healing. That is where I can best serve this University and our community moving forward.
Columbia University is a special place. What we do on our campuses every day changes lives around the world. Our students are transformed by their experiences here, our faculty represent the best of teaching and scholarship, our dedicated staff bring the university to life in so many ways, and we get to serve New York, in all its messy glory.
Over the last few months, I appreciate having had the opportunity to play a small part in navigating this vast enterprise through some of the most difficult moments in its history. The world needs Columbia University, and you can be assured that I will do everything I can to tell that story.
Standing together for Columbia,
Dr. Katrina A. Armstrong
