EXCLUSIVEColumbia University President Minouche Shafik enjoying 24/7 security at Manhattan mega mansion where her Tesla is charging in driveway - while anti-Israel mob holds the school hostage
- Shafik is enjoying round-the-clock private security in the Manhattan mega-mansion she lives in rent free
- The heightened security measures are in response to the recent protests on and around the campus
- The Muslim-American, born in Egypt, became Columbia's first woman president this academic year
While a pro-Palestine mob holds her school hostage and their Jewish classmates share their fears of being attacked on campus, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik is enjoying round-the-clock private security in the Manhattan mega-mansion she lives in rent free.
DailyMail.com can reveal that a gated perimeter has been set up with a 24-hour guard at the President's House, a 10,000ft palace just a few blocks from the school where her $42,000, red Tesla Y remains parked in the driveway.
The historic six-story mansion was given to the university leader for the duration of her tenure in the role, which has an estimated salary of nearly $5 million per year. Should it ever go on the market, the property would be worth around $16million.
DailyMail.com visited the property on Wednesday but was told by a security guard that no unauthorized visitors were allowed to knock the door or even make a request through the intercom. A security guard who was based at the entrance did not confirm whether Shafik was inside but several members of her staff were seen inside the grounds.
Staffers said she was working from her office on the main campus, which is accessible via a private walkway at the rear of the house, but Shafik was not seen.
The security guard, who works for Allied Universal, said he had been at the property since midnight and would be replaced at 8am. He confirmed the heightened security measures were in response to the recent protests on and around the campus.
While a pro-Palestine mob holds her school hostage and their Jewish classmates share their fears of being attacked on campus, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik is enjoying round-the-clock private security
The historic six-story mansion was given to the university leader for the duration of her tenure in the role, which has an estimated salary of nearly $5 million per year
A security guard did not confirm whether Shafik was inside but several members of her staff were seen inside the ground
The Columbia president's $42,000, red Tesla Y remains parked in the driveway - which is seen here being charged
The heightened security measures were in response to the recent protests on and around the campus
A local resident walking her dog also pointed out the new measures, which she said were unfair under the circumstances.
‘[Shafik] gets protection but the students on campus don’t get protection.'
The curtains were drawn at the grandiose property, which is also believed to include offices for Shafik’s staff.
The mansion, in a leafy section of Manhattan’s Upper West Side, is just a block away from the Columbia campus where tensions have flared throughout the past week.
The property boasts views across Morningside Park and underwent a multimillion dollar renovation in 2005 to the tune of $23million.
On campus, emboldened student protesters were enjoying a 48 hour extension on their sit-in.
Shafik, a Muslim-American, fled Alexandria with her family at the age of four in the mid 1960s and moved to Georgia
The curtains were drawn at the grandiose property, which is also believed to include offices for Shafik’s staff
There are railings put up outside the college president's home - presumably for safety amid the students' protests
The property boasts views across Morningside Park and underwent a $23million renovation in 2005
DailyMail.com can reveal that a gated perimeter has been set up with a 24-hour guard at the President's House
A local resident walking her dog (not pictured) also pointed out the new security measures at the Columbia president's home
It was not clear on Monday whether Columbia's president was inside the mansion
The NYPD had been primed to clear them out last night but were called off at the last minute. The students were then given until 8am today to make themselves scarce, but that deadline has now been pushed back.
They have remained on the campus green all week, blocking Jewish students and professors while demanding a ceasefire in Palestine.
They say they are angry at Columbia for using tuition to support Israel-linked companies and investments.
Meanwhile, Jewish students and parents are furious that their $90,000-a-year tuition has led to cancelation of all in-person classes.
'I pay a lot of money to go to this school and I can't get access to the same areas... it's absurd,' Jessica Schwalb told Fox's Lauren Ingram last night.
Shafik, 61, became Columbia's first woman president this academic year, succeeding former university boss Lee Bollinger, who stepped down in 2023.
The Egypt-born academic was previously director of the London School of Economics and Political Science and began her career as the youngest vice president ever of the World Bank, at the age of 36.
The inside of the history home of Columbia's president is seen in an image from the Library of Congress, taken in the 1940s
One of the bedrooms inside the 10,000ft New York City palace, which is just a few blocks from the school
Should the mansion ever go on the market, the property would be worth around $16million
The home in uptown Manhattan includes several areas for the Columbia president's staff
The dining room at the historic home is seen above in an image taken in the 1940s and preserved by Congress
Another of the home's many bedrooms is pictured in the above image from the Library of Congress
She's also held leadership positions at the International Monetary Fund, the Bank of England and the UK's Department for International Development.
Shafik, a Muslim-American, fled her native Alexandria with her family at the age of four in the mid 1960s and settled in Savannah, Georgia.
She went on to attend the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford.
Shafik has been married to molecular biologist Rafael Jovine for 22 years and they share two adult children who are twins
The economist has been married to molecular biologist Rafael Jovine for 22 years and they share two adult children who are twins.
Jovine also has two children from a previous relationship.
In 2020 Shafik became a 'baroness' after being appointed a 'crossbench peer' member of the House of Lords.
Demonstrators claim school officials threatened to call in the National Guard to the campus, which has been besieged by demonstrations since last Wednesday.
Amid the ongoing campus chaos, Shafik has crumbled under pressure from pro Palestine protesters and given them a 48 hour extension to disperse after they ignored the original deadline.
Shafik had announced a midnight deadline for protesters to reach an agreement and dismantle their encampment or she will have to consider 'alternative options.'
The university president said a group of faculty, administrators and University Senators have been negotiating with the student organizers and set a midnight deadline to reach an agreement to dismantle the encampment.
'I very much hope these discussions are successful. If they are not, we will have to consider alternative options for clearing the West Lawn,' said Shafik.
'The encampment raises serious safety concerns, disrupts campus life, and has created a tense and hostile environment for our community. It is essential that we move forward with a plan to dismantle it,' Shafik said.
Shafik became Columbia's first woman president this academic year, succeeding former university boss Lee Bollinger
Shakif is seen, far right, during a meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House in 2017
She attended the University of Massachusetts, the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford
The Muslim-American has held various leadership positions across the world's most important institutions
Shafik is seen with famous South African and theologian Desmond Tutu
The academic is seen in an undated photo shared by Columbia University on their website
'I also want to be clear that we will not tolerate intimidating, harassing, or discriminatory behavior. We are working to identify protestors who violated our policies against discrimination and harassment, and they will be put through appropriate disciplinary processes.'
Shafik capitulated after her midnight deadline came and went with no real signs the camp was dispersing.
Instead, a spokesman for the school told CBS the protestors received an additional two days to move after a 'constructive dialogue', where they pledged to remove a 'significant' number of tents and any non-students from the demonstration.
After passing the midnight deadline, photos and videos show members of the NYPD counterterrorism unit gathering at the university gates with zip ties, as protesters and police brace for a potential conflict.
Video posted by the Palestinian Youth Movement shows protesters on campus taunting the police.
After passing the midnight deadline, photos and videos show members of the NYPD counterterrorism unit gathering at the university gates with zip ties, as protesters and police brace for a potential conflict.
Video posted by the Palestinian Youth Movement shows protesters on campus taunting the police.
Shafik has been facing mounting calls to resign because she has 'surrendered control to the anti-Semitic fringe' and allowed 'anarchy' after she canceled all in-person classes until the end of the semester.
NYPD officers stand guard outside of Columbia University on Wednesday amid the campus commotion
Students continue to maintain a protest encampment in support of Palestinians on the Columbia University campus
Demonstrators claim school officials threatened to call in the National Guard to the campus, which has been besieged by demonstrations since last Wednesday
Shafik has crumbled under pressure from pro Palestine protesters and given them a 48 hour extension to disperse after they ignored the original deadline
Shafik has been facing mounting calls to resign because she has 'surrendered control to the anti-Semitic fringe'
A Pro-Palestine protestor is arrested at the gates of Columbia University on April 22
In the wake of that decision, Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Democrat, tweeted that the president, who has only been in the role since the summer of 2023, had 'surrendered control of Columbia to an anti-Semitic fringe.'
'If you cannot ensure the safety of your students, then you have no business serving as President of any university... What Columbia University needs is not an appeaser of antisemitism but a leader who will fight with moral clarity against it,' Torres added.
As a result of the growing protests, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft announced his intention to pull his funding for the school.
'The school I love so much – the one that welcomed me and provided me with so much opportunity – is no longer an institution I recognize,' Kraft said.
'I am deeply saddened at the virulent hate that continues to grow on campus and throughout our country.'
