John Coatsworth
John Coatsworth is a professor of International and Public Affairs and of History. He has previously served as the Dean of SIPA. Before coming to Columbia, Coatsworth previously taught at Chicago and Harvard, and served as the acting dean of SIPA before he was officially appointed as the permanent dean. Coatsworth is apparently a genius in the Latin American field, with extensive knowledge of the 21 countries in the region.
Role as Provost
In 2011, Coatsworth was named acting Provost of the University after Claude Steele unexpectedly stepped down.
On March 14th, 2019, it was announced that Coatsworth would be stepping down from provost after years of growing opposition from Graduate Student Unions and Arts and Sciences faculty. On August 16th, 2019, it was announced that Ira Katznelson would assume the role of Interim Provost.
Controversy
Coatsworth became controversial during the media circus surrounding the 2007 appearance of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he claimed Columbia would have also invited Hitler to speak. Coatsworth's words were:
"If Hitler were in the United States and wanted a platform from which to speak, he would have plenty of platforms to speak in the United States. If he were willing to engage in a debate and a discussion, to be challenged by Columbia students and faculty, we would certainly invite him."
| Preceded by Claude Steele |
Provost (Arts and Sciences) 2012-2020 |
Succeeded by Ira Katznelson |
| Preceded by Lisa Anderson |
Dean of SIPA 2008-2012 |
Succeeded by Robert Lieberman |
