3 Columbia deans placed on leave over conduct at antisemitism panel

New York: Columbia University placed three administrators on leave this past week, a university spokesperson said Saturday. The moves came a little more than a week after images emerged showing the school officials sharing disparaging text messages during a panel discussion about antisemitism on campus.

The panel, which focused on Jewish life on campus amid tensions over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, occurred during a Columbia College reunion May 31.

The spokesperson did not identify which officials were placed on leave, but The Washington Free Beacon, the website that first published the images, reported that they were Susan Chang-Kim, vice dean and chief administrative officer; Cristen Kromm, dean of undergraduate student life; and Matthew Patashnick, associate dean for student and family support.

Chang-Kim also exchanged texts during the event with Josef Sorett, dean of Columbia College, according to the Free Beacon. In one exchange, Sorett texted “LMAO,” for “laughing my ass off,” in response to a sarcastic message that Chang-Kim had written about Brian Cohen, executive director of Columbia/Barnard Hillel, according to the Free Beacon.

Sorett is cooperating with the investigation of the text exchanges, according to a university official. He will be recused from matters relating to the investigation while continuing to serve as dean.

Sorett oversees Columbia College’s curriculum and his central role is “to ensure that students have the best possible experience inside and outside the classroom,” according to the university’s website.

In a statement sent to the Columbia College Board of Visitors on Friday afternoon, Sorett told the advisory board that he deeply regretted his role in the text exchanges and their effect on the community.

“I am committed to learning from this situation and to the work of confronting antisemitism, discrimination and hate at Columbia,” he said.

Attempts to reach the other administrators were unsuccessful.

Because the investigation is pending, the Columbia spokesperson said the university would not address specifics about it or the initial episode.

The Free Beacon, a conservative news site, said it had obtained the images from a person who sat behind Chang-Kim at the event and took photos of her phone screen as she texted with the other administrators.

As the panelists spoke, the deans exchanged messages, the pictures show. “Difficult to listen to but I’m trying to keep an open mind to learn about this point of view,” Chang-Kim texted to Sorett at one point. He responded “yup.”