Columbia University names new president that will take over in July 2026 amid federal scrutiny

Columbia University announced Monday that it has selected a new president who will begin her term in July 2026.

"Columbia University’s Board of Trustees has appointed Jennifer L. Mnookin, a nationally recognized legal scholar who serves as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, to be the next president of Columbia University, effective July 1, 2026," a Monday announcement from Columbia University read. "The appointment concludes an extensive national search led by a committee of trustees and faculty, who sought input from students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other members of the Columbia community." 

Before becoming the chancellor at UW-Madison, Mnookin was previously the dean of the UCLA School of Law, spending 17 years on the faculty, and prior to that was a professor of law at the University of Virginia School of Law and a visiting professor of law at Harvard Law School.

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Mnookin’s biography page on the University of Wisconsin–Madison website says she is "dedicated to pushing boundaries to bring the university to new levels of excellence in research and education."

In 2025, Mnookin told The New York Times that colleges had placed too much emphasis on identity diversity, saying, "I think that many universities, not all, but many, were for a period of time deeply focused on identity diversity, and really not so focused on viewpoint diversity or belief diversity."

She added, "I think there’s a danger of a pendulum swinging too far in the other direction, and we need to worry about that. But I think universities should be spaces where ideas, and different ideas, embodied by people from different backgrounds, come together, and where it won’t always be comfortable, but where we will learn and do better from that engagement."

Earlier in 2025, Mnookin announced that the university’s Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement would "sunset as a freestanding division," and that the office would be "relocated to the Division for Teaching and Learning, along with the leaders and academic advisors supporting this work."

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Federal campaign finance records show that Mnookin donated to Democratic campaigns, including $2,000 to former President Barack Obama in 2008, $500 to former President Joe Biden in 2020 and $250 to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Mnookin was also outspoken in her support for the Black Lives Movement in 2020 when she was the dean at UCLA Law.

"As members of a law school community in particular, we must recognize and grapple with the complicity of the legal system and law enforcement in acts of racism and violence. These recent horrifying instances are, sadly, not aberrations; our legal system has been part and parcel of our nation’s shameful history of institutionalized racism," she wrote. 

Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R., who had been critical of Mnookin, thanked her for her service in a Monday statement. 

"I want to thank Chancellor Mnookin for her service to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and applaud her commitment to the students," Vos said. 

"Chancellor Mnookin had many great accomplishments during her tenure, such as bringing more free speech to campus and closing its division of DEI," Vos added. "I enjoyed working with her as we both wanted students to reach their full potential and have a successful and impactful life after graduation."

Mnookin’s appointment comes as Columbia continues to face heightened federal scrutiny.

In July, President Donald Trump struck a $221 million settlement with Columbia University to resolve various federal civil rights investigations, including allegations of discriminatory practices and claims of antisemitic employment discrimination against Jewish faculty following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Mnookin didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.