Minouche Shafik
The Baroness Shafik | |
---|---|
![]() Shafik in 2009 | |
20th President of Columbia University | |
Assumed office 1 July 2023 | |
Preceded by | Lee Bollinger |
President and Vice Chancellor of the London School of Economics | |
In office 1 September 2017 – 1 July 2023 | |
Preceded by | Craig Calhoun (2016) |
Succeeded by | Larry Kramer[1] |
Deputy Governor of the Bank of England for Markets and Banking | |
In office 1 August 2014 – 28 February 2017 | |
Governor | Mark Carney |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Charlotte Hogg |
Member of the House of Lords | |
Life peerage 15 October 2020 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Nemat Talaat Shafik 13 August 1962 Alexandria, Egypt |
Citizenship | United Kingdom United States Egypt |
Political party | Independent (crossbencher) |
Education | |
Nemat Talaat Shafik, Baroness Shafik, DBE, HonFBA (born 13 August 1962) commonly known as Minouche Shafik (Arabic: نعمت شفيق) is an Egyptian-born American economist who has been serving as the 20th president of Columbia University since July 2023. She previously served as president and vice chancellor of the London School of Economics from 2017 to 2023. She also serves on the board of directors of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Previously, Shafik served as deputy governor of the Bank of England from 2014 to 2017 and permanent secretary of the United Kingdom Department for International Development from 2008 to 2011.[2] She has also served as a vice president at the World Bank[3] and as deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund.[4]
Early life and education
Shafik was born in Alexandria, Egypt, to parents who were both educators.[5] Her father was also a scientist and wealthy landowner.[6][7] As a child, she went to Schutz American School. When she was 4, the Egyptian government seized her father's property[8] and the family moved to Savannah, Georgia in the mid-1960s, then to Miami and Raleigh, North Carolina.[9]
Shafik graduated Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, with a major in economics and politics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1983; she gained a Master of Science degree in economics from the London School of Economics in 1986; and a Doctorate of Philosophy in economics from the University of Oxford, in 1989.[10]
Career
After Oxford, Shafik joined the World Bank and held a variety of roles, starting in the research department where she worked on global economic modelling and forecasting and then later on environmental issues. She moved to do macroeconomic work on Europe and the Middle East where she published a number of books and articles on the region's economic future, the economics of peace, labour markets, regional integration, and gender issues.[11] At age 36, Shafik became the World Bank's youngest-ever Vice President.[12][13]
Shafik has held academic appointments, both as adjunct professor in the Economics Department at Georgetown University from 1989 to 1994, and as Visiting associate professor at the Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania in Spring 1996.[14]
She initially went to the British Government's Department for International Development (DFID) on secondment as Director General for Country Programmes where she was responsible for all of DFID's overseas offices and financing across Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. She was appointed as DFID's Permanent Secretary in 2008 where she managed a bilateral aid programme in over 100 countries, multilateral policies and financing for the United Nations, European Union and international financial institutions, and overall development policy and research – responsible for 2400 staff and a budget of £38 billion (about US$60 billion) for 2011–2014.[15]
Shafik served as IMF Deputy Managing Director from April 2011 until March 2014. As Deputy Managing Director, she oversaw the IMF's work in Europe and the Middle East, a $1 billion administrative budget, human resources for its 3,000 staff and the IMF's training and technical assistance for policy makers around the world.[16]
Shafik joined the Bank of England as its first Deputy Governor on Markets and Banking responsible for the Bank's £500 billion balance sheet and served as a Member of the bank's Monetary Policy Committee, Financial Policy Committee and the Board of the Prudential Regulatory Authority. She led the Bank's Fair and Effective Markets review to tackle misconduct in financial markets.
London School of Economics
On 12 September 2016, it was announced that Shafik had been appointed as the next Director of the London School of Economics, replacing sociologist Craig Calhoun. She took up the post on 1 September 2017.[17]
During Shafik's directorship of the LSE, levels of academic casualisation increased, with the number of academics on fixed term contracts increasing from 55 percent in 2016 through 2017 to 59 percent in 2021 through 2022, according to Higher Education Statistical Agency data.[18] This rise occurred in contrast to many other universities in the UK, where the number of permanent staff grew during this same period.[18] As a result, the student-to-permanent staff ratio at LSE decreased during Shafik's directorship and had, as of July 2023, the worst student-to-permanent staff ratio among comparable universities in the UK, according to HESA data.[18]
In response to a legal strike action taken by UCU in the summer of 2023, overpay, and casualised working conditions, the LSE management, under Shafik's directorship, decided to impose punitive pay deductions on academic staff participating in the action.[19] The LSE made the decision to impose 50 percent pay deductions, starting on June 16,[19] but as no deductions were taken until the end of July, some participating staff received July payslips deducting 75 percent of their income for that month.
In addition to imposing pay deductions, the LSE management, under Shafik's directorship, pushed through an "Exceptional Degree Classification Schemes" policy, in response to the strike action.[20] Under this scheme, undergraduates can be awarded provisional degrees on the basis of only approximately 85 to 90 percent of their grades and Masters students, only 75 percent of their grades.[20] In the event that the full and final assessment (100 percent of their grades) would lower their classification, the higher provisional classification would stand.[20] This policy allowed students to graduate on time, but effectively lowered the standards of LSE degrees, awarded during the strike action.
President of Columbia University
On 18 January 2023, It was announced that Shafik would become the next President of Columbia University, starting 1 July 2023.[21][22]
After the Israel–Hamas conflict intensified in October 2023, and an altercation concerning an Israeli student leading to legal action, Shafik issued a statement saying that if "speech is unlawful or violates University rules, it will not be tolerated".[23] While some[who?] said she should have done more to protect Jewish students from anti-Semitic violence on campus,[23][24] many[who?] raised concerns over her decision to suspend pro-Palestine student groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) from the campus for repeatedly violated University policies relating to on campus events which were changed by Shafik's administration without input or dialogue with the University Senate or announcing the changes to the student body. This move sparked a faculty revolt, as many[who?] saw it as a suppression of free speech and academic freedom.[25]
In November 2023, Shafik was invited to attend the 2023 United States Congress hearing on antisemitism, but declined citing a scheduling conflict.[26][27] She later gave testimony before the United States House Committee on Education & the Workforce on April 17, 2024, along with David Greenwald and Claire Shipman, co-chairs of the Trustees of Columbia University.[1]
Shafik has also been criticised by the student body and many faculty by her lack of concrete actions or protections for students by her administration in the face of harassment, intimidation, and assault.
April 2024 student arrest order
Shafik has opposed the ongoing campus occupation by pro-Palestinian demonstrators that began on April 17, 2024. On April 18, she called on and authorised the NYPD to "begin clearing the encampment from the South Lawn of Morningside campus" that was set up to protest the war in Gaza. The protest called for the university's divestment from companies profiting off of "Israeli apartheid, genocide and occupation in Palestine", an academic boycott of Israeli institutions via the cancelation of the Tel Aviv global center and dual degree program, full financial transparency into the university's investments, as well as other demands concerning gentrification of the Harlem community, over-policing on campus, and censorship in the classroom.[28]
The NYPD employed its Strategic Response Group to arrest over 100 protestors, the most since the 1968 Columbia University protests, as well as several legal observers[29] that were there to document the police's actions.[30][31][32][33] In his comments about the removal of protesters, NYPD Police Chief of Patrol John Chell clarified that it was Minouche Shafik, not the NYPD who had identified the demonstration as a 'clear and present danger'.[34] He further commented: "To put this in perspective, the students that were arrested were peaceful, offered no resistance whatsoever, and were saying what they wanted to say in a peaceful manner".[34]
Shafik's actions in ordering the arrests were criticised by the American Association of University Professors, PEN America, Serene Jones, president of Union Theological Seminary, and the Columbia College Student Council.[35][36][37] Others, however, such as Virginia Foxx, chair of the United States House Committee on Education & the Workforce stated "For nearly two days, the pro-Hamas Gaza Solidarity Encampment has plunged Columbia’s campus into chaos and endangered its students. I am glad President Shafik has taken the long overdue step of inviting the New York Police Department (NYPD) to clear this radical, unauthorized encampment."[38]
Academic work
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/P090711PS-0138_%286185443936%29.jpg/220px-P090711PS-0138_%286185443936%29.jpg)
Shafik has authored Prospects for the Middle East and North African Economies: from Boom to Bust and Back? (1998) and What We Owe Each Other: A New Social Contract for a Better Society (2021). She was also the editor of Economic Challenges Facing Middle Eastern and North African Countries (1998)[39][40]
She has written articles for publications including Oxford Economic Papers,[41] The Columbia Journal of World Business,[2] The Middle East Journal,[42] Journal of African Finance and Economic Development, World Development, and the Journal of Development Economics.
Other activities
Shafik has chaired several international consultative groups including: the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, the Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme,[43] the Global Water and Sanitation Program,[44] Cities Alliance,[45] InfoDev,[46] the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility,[47] and the Global Corporate Governance Forum.[48] She served on a number of boards including the Middle East Advisory Group to the International Monetary Fund,[49] and the Economic Research Forum for the Arab World, Iran and Turkey.[50] She is also active on the board and as a mentor to the Minority Ethnic Talent Association which supports under-represented groups to advance to senior positions in the civil service.[51]
Shafik currently serves as a Trustee of the British Museum,[52] the Council of the Institute for Fiscal Studies,[53] the Task Force on Fiscal Policy for Health,[54] the New Economy Forum,[55] and the Per Jacobsson Foundation.[56]
In 2021, she was appointed to the Pandemic Preparedness Partnership (PPP), an expert group chaired by Patrick Vallance to advise the G7 presidency held by the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson.[57]
Safik was appointed as a trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in January 2022.[58]
In a piece published on the International Monetary Fund's website, as part of the promotion of her book, What We Owe Each Other: A New Social Contract, Shafik indicated that she was worried about 'cancel culture' on university campuses, commenting: "The point of university is to be intellectually challenged and confronted with difference." She argued that universities needed to 'teach people to have difficult conversations', adding: “It’s through that process of listening that you learn, you build consensus, and you move forward as a community."[59]
Recognition
Shafik was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the June 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours.[60]
She was named "GG2 Woman of the Year" in 2009.[61] She was named as one of Forbes 100 most powerful women in 2015[62][63] and received the 100 Women in Finance European Industry Leaders Award in 2019.[64]
She was gazetted as Baroness Shafik, of Camden in the London Borough of Camden and of Alexandria in the Arab Republic of Egypt, in the 2020 Political Honours and was introduced to the House of Lords on 15 October 2020.[65][66] She sits as a crossbencher and made her maiden speech on 28 January 2021.[67] Shafik took a leave of absence from the House of Lords in July 2023.[68]
Shafik was elected an honorary fellow of the British Academy in 2021[69] and was awarded an honorary doctorate from Utrecht University.[70]
Personal life
Shafik married economist Mohamed El-Erian in 1990 during their time working for the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, respectively.[71][72] In 2002, Shafik married her second husband, scientist Raffael Jovine, with whom she has twin children and three stepchildren.[60][73] Her daughter Olivia Jovine graduated from Columbia University's urban planning program.[74]
Shafik is a dual American and British citizen and speaks English, Arabic, and French.[13][75]
References
- ^ "LSE announces appointment of new President and Vice Chancellor". LSE. 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ Chan, Szu Ping; Quinn, James (12 September 2016). "Bank of England deputy Governor Minouche Shafik quits after just two years". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ "Nemat Shafik Biographical Information - IMF Deputy Managing Director (April 2011-March 2014". World Bank. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
- ^ "Nemat Shafik biodata". Imf.org. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ Columbia University (18 January 2023). Meet Columbia University's Next President, Minouche Shafik.
- ^ Marshell, Grace (1 December 2020). "Minouche Shafik". Kyria.
- ^ Ashton, James (2015). "'Capital Assets'". The Correspondent. p. 26.
- ^ Owen, Nicholas (September 2023). "Minouche Shafik: the Everywhere Economist". International Monetary Fund, F&D.
- ^ Boustany, Nora (1 March 2002). "An Economist's Quest for Many Answers". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
- ^ "Nemat (Minouche) Shafik" (PDF). Parliament of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
- ^ "Nemat Shafik [profile]". International Monetary Fund. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ "Conversations with History: Nemat Shafik". Globetrotter.berkeley.edu. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ a b "Deputy Managing Director, IMF". The World Bank. 11 April 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
- ^ "Nemat (Minouche) Shafik – UK Parliament" (PDF).
- ^ "United Kingdom (2010) DAC Peer Review – Main Findings and Recommendations". Oecd.org. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ "Nemat Shafik Biographical Information". imf.org. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
- ^ Science, London School of Economics and Political. "Meet the Director". London School of Economics and Political Science.
- ^ a b c HESA (2003). ""HE academic staff by HE provider and employment conditions, Academic years 2014/15 to 2021/22". www.hesa.ac.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ^ a b LSE (2023). "Industrial Action: marking and assessment boycott - frequently asked questions (FAQs) for staff and managers" (PDF). LSE. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ^ a b c LSE Registrar's Division, Student Services (June 2023). ""Marking and Assessment Boycott Summer 2023 Exceptional Degree Classification Schemes for Provisional Classifications" (PDF)" (PDF). London School of Economics.
- ^ "Columbia University Names Minouche Shafik 20th President". Columbia News. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
- ^ Saul, Stephanie (18 January 2023). "Columbia Names Nemat Shafik as President, the First Woman to Lead the University". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
- ^ a b Otterman, Sharon (24 October 2023). "Columbia University Postpones a Fund-Raiser as Divisions Over War Deepen". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- ^ Egan, Matt (25 October 2023). "Columbia University postpones major fundraiser amid tensions over Israel-Hamas war". CNN Business. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- ^ "Columbia Suspended Pro-Palestine Student Groups. The Faculty Revolted". The New Yorker. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ Karni, Annie (12 December 2023). "To Testify or Not to Testify in Congress? Your Job Could Hang in the Balance". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
- ^ Bernstein, Noah. "Shafik declined to testify before Congress, citing a scheduling conflict. But Columbia remains under national scrutiny". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
- ^ "Demands — CUAD". 18 April 2024. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ "NYCLU on Arrest of Columbia University Demonstrators". NYCLU. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ "Over 100 arrested as NYPD clears pro-Palestinian demonstrators from Columbia University campus". ABC7 New York. 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ "Statement from Columbia University President Minouche Shafik | Office of the President". president.columbia.edu. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ "NYPD arrests over 100 at pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University". 19 April 2024.
- ^ Stahl, Maya. "Shafik authorizes NYPD to sweep 'Gaza Solidarity Encampment,' officers in riot gear arrest over 100". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ a b Stahl, Huddleston and Vance (18 April 2024). ""Shafik Authorizes NYPD to Sweep 'Gaza Solidarity Encampment,' Officers in Riot Gear Arrest Over 100"". Columbia Spectator. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ Stahl, Maya. "Shafik authorizes NYPD to sweep 'Gaza Solidarity Encampment,' officers in riot gear arrest over 100". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ Noxon, Oscar. "CCSC executive board issues open letter condemning Shafik's authorization of NYPD 'Gaza Solidarity Encampment' sweep". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ "AAUP President: Columbia President Shafik Trampled on Students' Rights". AAUP. 19 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ "Foxx: The Chaos at Columbia Must Become a Turning Point". Committee on Education & the Workforce. 18 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ "Shafik, Nemat - Overview". WorldCat.
- ^ Stewart, Dan (12 August 2021). "A Top Economist on Why We Need a New Social Contract". TIME. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ Shafik, N. (1994). "Economic development and environmental quality: an econometric analysis". Oxford Economic Papers. 46: 757–773. doi:10.1093/oep/46.Supplement_1.757.
- ^ Derviş, Kemal; Shafik, Nemat (1998). "The Middle East and North Africa: A Tale of Two Futures". Middle East Journal. 52 (4): 505–516. ISSN 0026-3141. JSTOR 4329250.
- ^ Staff. "Energy Sector Management Assistance Program website". Esmap.org. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ "Water and Sanitation Program website". Wsp.org. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ "The Cities Alliance website". Citiesalliance.org. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ "infoDev website". Infodev.org. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ "Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF) website". PPIAF.org. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ "Global Corporate Governance Forum website". Gcgf.org. Archived from the original on 9 January 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ "International Monetary Fund website". Imf.org. 26 April 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ "Economic Research Forum website". Erf.org. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ "Civil Service Live Network Article – A working partnership". Network.civilservicelive.com. 7 April 2009. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ "The British Museum – Trustee Dame Nemat (Minouche) Shafik". britishmuseum.org.
- ^ "IFS Annual Lecture: Baroness Minouche Shafik". Institute for Fiscal Studies. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ Michael R. Bloomberg and Lawrence H. Summers Create Task Force to Address Preventable Leading Causes of Death and Noncommunicable Diseases Through Fiscal Policy Bloomberg Philanthropies, press release of 18 January 2018.
- ^ "New Economy Forum - Advisory Board". neweconomyforum.com.
- ^ "Per Jacobsson Foundation Directors and Officers". www.perjacobsson.org.
- ^ New global partnership launched to fight future pandemics Government of the United Kingdom, press release of April 20, 2021.
- ^ Beasley, Stephanie (26 January 2022). "Gates Foundation announces new and relatively small board of trustees". Devex. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ Owen, Nicholas (September 2023). "Minouche Shafik: the Everywhere Economist". International Monetary Fund, F&D.
- ^ a b Ashton, James (22 June 2015). "Bank of England's Minouche Shafik: 'We want to make life difficult for the bad apples in banking'". Evening Standard.
- ^ "GG2 Leadership and Diversity Awards". Archived from the original on 26 April 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- ^ "The World's Most Powerful Women: 19 Newcomers To The 2015 List". forbes.com.
- ^ "#59 Nemat (Minouche) Shafik". forbes.com.
- ^ "Dame Minouche Shafik Named Recipient of 100 Women in Finance's 2018 European Industry Leadership Award to be presented at London Gala".
- ^ "No. 28398". The Edinburgh Gazette. 2 October 2020. p. 1610.
- ^ "Political Peerages 2020" (PDF). GOV.UK. 31 July 2020.
- ^ "Parliamentary career for Baroness Shafik". members.parliament.uk. UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- ^ "Leave of Absence Leave of absence was granted to Baroness Shafik for the remainder of this Session". House of Lords. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ "The British Academy elects 84 new Fellows recognising outstanding achievement in the humanities and social sciences". The British Academy. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
- ^ "Honorary doctorates for Minouche Shafik and Professor João Mano". Utrecht University News. 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ Inman, Phillip (22 January 2022). "Minouche Shafik: 'The idea that you are successful because you are hardworking is pernicious'". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
- ^ Gopinath, Deepak (23 September 2004). "Pimco's El-Erian Shuns Banks That Break His Rules". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
- ^ Fleming, Sam (21 March 2014). "Nemat Shafik: High-Flyer Parachuted in by the Bank of England". Financial Times. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
- ^ Columbia University (18 January 2023). 20 Facts About Columbia's 20th President, Minouche Shafik.
- ^ Sullivan, Patricia (Summer 2018). "How Minouche Shafik '83 Became One of Britain's Most Influential People". University of Massachusetts Amherst. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
Sources
- "New top civil servant for DFID". DFID.gov.uk. 9 June 2011. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
External links
- Executive Office of LSE Archived, LSE 2023
- Meet Minouche Shafik Columbia University 2023
- Full text of doctoral thesis, "Private investment and public policy in Egypt, 1960-1986" via Oxford Research Archive
- Shafik on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs in 2018
- 1962 births
- Living people
- People from Alexandria
- Egyptian emigrants to England
- Egyptian emigrants to the United States
- Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom
- Egyptian women economists
- 20th-century Egyptian economists
- 21st-century Egyptian economists
- University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni
- Alumni of the London School of Economics
- Alumni of the University of London
- Alumni of St Antony's College, Oxford
- Georgetown University faculty
- Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania faculty
- Presidents of Columbia University
- World Bank Group people
- Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for International Development
- Department for International Development
- International Monetary Fund
- Deputy Governors of the Bank of England
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation people
- Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II