Columbia University’s New President Nemat Shafik


Right on the heels of Harvard University’s recent appointment of a woman, and more specifically a Black woman, Columbia University named Nemat “Minouche” Shafik to be its 20th president on January 18, 2023.

Shafik is currently the president of the London School of Economics (LSE). She has led LSE since 2017, overseeing extensive enhancements to the academic and co-curricular experiences of students, recruiting highly talented faculty, and managing significant infrastructure expansion. She has also been a fierce advocate for diversity.

According to Jonathan Lavine, chair of the Columbia University Board of Trustees, Shafik is “the perfect candidate: a brilliant and able global leader, a community builder, and a preeminent economist who understands the academy and the world beyond it.” He added, “What set Minouche apart as a candidate is her unshakable confidence in the vital role institutions of higher education can and must play in solving the world’s most complex problems.”

At a time when national confidence in higher education is falling, having a president who is committed to the function of higher education in society is essential. Shafik believes that universities have a special role in “giving young people opportunities to encounter difference and to learn to engage with difference.” She stresses that “being able to engage with people who have a very different perspective and point of view is an essential way to build a cohesive society.” This engagement allows individuals “to live together and thrive together and make decisions together.”

Shafik was born in Alexandria, Egypt. She came to the United States at age 4 when her family fled the country in the 1960s after their house and personal property were seized and nationalized by President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s government. Recalling her upbringing and her family’s departure from Egypt, Shafik said the value of education was deeply ingrained in her as a child: “When my family left Alexandria in the early 1960s, my father, who like his father had a Ph.D. in chemistry, said to me, ‘They can take everything away from you except your education.’” She added, “My parents were very different animals. My father was an Anglophone-trained scientist and my mother was a Francophone-trained literary type, and so that combination of empirical scientific rigor but at the same time being more human and earthy were a big part of my upbringing.”

Shafik has a vast background in finance. She started her career at the World Bank, becoming the youngest-ever vice president at 36 years old. She also served as Permanent Secretary of the U.K.’s Department for International Development; as Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund during the European debt crisis; and as Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, where she was responsible for a portfolio of more than $605 billion.

Perhaps the most insightful window into her future leadership of Columbia University can be found in the premise of her newest book What We Owe Each Other. Drawing on evidence from across the globe, Shafik demonstrates how each country can provide its citizens with the basics to have a decent and humane life, and to be able to contribute to society. However, she argues that we owe each other more than this, stating: “A more generous and inclusive society would also share more risks collectively and ask everyone to contribute for as long as they can so that everyone can fulfill their potential.”

According to Shafik, “I strongly believe that talent is spread evenly around the world, but opportunity is not.” She believes that life’s circumstances — be they lucky or unlucky — have a significant impact on life’s outcomes — often outweighing other interventions. Citing her personal achievements, Shafik stated that if she “had been born into a different family, she probably would not have come close to the level of success she has achieved.”



Source link

Denial of responsibility! galaxyconcerns is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.