Columbia University names economist Nemat Shafik as first woman president
New Delhi: Columbia University named former Bank of England Deputy Governor and current London School of Economics President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik as its president, marking the first time a woman has been named to lead the renowned American educational institution.
Shafik, an economist whose career has focused on public policy and academia, will become the twentieth president of Columbia University on July 1, the institution said in a statement on Wednesday. Shafik began her career at the World Bank, becoming its youngest-ever vice president at the age of 36. She later also served as deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund and as top official in the UK’s Department for International Development.
Here’s everything you need to know about Nemat Shafik:
1. Nemat Shafik who is set to become Columbia University’s 20th president is an economist. Her career has focused on public policy and academia.
2. She will take on the role on July 1, becoming the first woman to hold the position in the university’s 268-year history.
3. Nemat Shafik completed her Bachelors’ at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. She then finished her MSc at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She also has done DPhil at the University of Oxford.
4. At 36, Nemat Shafik was the youngest-ever vice president at the World Bank.
5. She has also worked at International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the deputy managing director.
6. Nemat Shafik served on and chaired numerous boards at London School of Economics.
7. She currently serves as a Trustee of the British Museum, the Supervisory Board of Siemens, the Council of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and the Economy Honours Committee.
8. This comes after Harvard University last month named Claudine Gay as its new president. Claudine Gay is the first black woman to hold the position at Harvard.
