Former Columbia President Takes Job With British PM

Former Columbia University president Minouche Shafik has been appointed chief economic adviser to British prime minister Keir Starmer, the Associated Press reported.

An economist by training, Shafik served as president of the London School of Economics before she was tapped to lead Columbia in 2023. She also previously held leadership positions at the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Bank of England.

At Columbia, she faced tumult almost from the very start over her handling of pro-Palestinian campus protests in the spring of 2024 and alleged antisemitism among students and faculty. By the time she stepped down in August 2024, barely a year after she first assumed the presidency, Shafik had lost the support of swaths of students, faculty, alumni and trustees.

She returned to the United Kingdom, where she is a life peer in the House of Lords, to take an international role in the foreign secretary’s office. Starmer appointed her chief economic adviser as part of a shakeup to invigorate the British economy.

“This role and the additional expertise will support the Government to go further and faster in driving economic growth and raising living standards for all,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement. 

“Enormous congratulations to Minouche on this outstanding appointment,” London School of Economics president and vice chancellor Larry Kramer said. “Congratulations to the UK Government too: Minouche’s experience, insight, and expertise will be invaluable to the Administration in tackling the country’s economic challenges and opportunities.”