Three Columbia Deans Put on Leave Following ‘Disparaging’ Leaked Text Messages

Three Columbia University deans were placed on administrative leave following the leak of their text message conversations by attendees of a panel on antisemitism. On May 31, attendees of an alumni event being held at the university sat down for a two-hour talk on antisemitism on campus at Columbia. One attendee of the panel took pictures of university administrators’ phones who were in the audience, exchanging texts critiquing the panel, according to the Free Beacon. Deans Josef Sorett, Susan Chang-Kim, Kristen Kromm and Matthew Patashnick were captured in text message group chats by an attendee who sneakily took pictures of their phones. One image captured a text sent by Chang-Kim to Sorett that read: “This is difficult to listen to but I’m trying to keep an open mind to learn this point of view,” with Sorett replying “Yup.” Patashnick was also captured in a group chat with Kromm and Chang-Kim saying that the panel was a “fundraising” opportunity. The Columbia Spectator reported Friday that Chang-Kim, Kromm and Patashnick had been placed on administrative leave, pending a university investigation into their text messages.