Lee C. Bollinger, president of Columbia University, announced Thursday that he will step down at the end of the 2022–23 academic year, his 21st year as president.
A letter to the campus from Lisa Carnoy and Jonathan Lavine, co-chairs of the Columbia board, praised his work on the Manhattanville campus, 17 acres that are a few blocks from the Morningside Heights campus. “When Lee was inaugurated in 2002, the Columbia he inherited was resource constrained, land constrained, and facing an uncertain future. Today, after raising more than $13 billion during his tenure for scholarships, research, capital projects, and endowment, the university’s financial standing and academic standing are stronger than ever,” they wrote.