TRUSTEE EXPOSED: JONATHAN LAVINE
THE PROFILE
ROLE: CHAIR EMERITUS, COLUMBIA TRUSTEE
STATUS: FMR CHAIR, BAIN CAPITAL
KNOWN FOR: INSTALLING MNOOKIN & VULTURE CAPITALISM
THE PRESIDENTIAL KINGMAKER
Lavine has done it again. As Co-Chair of the Presidential Search Committee, he was the primary architect behind the selection of Jennifer Mnookin as Columbia’s next President. This comes after his disastrous track record selecting Minouche Shafik, whose presidency was defined by police intervention and a total breakdown of campus trust. By hand-picking Mnookin, Lavine has signaled that the Trustees have no interest in faculty or student input—only in corporate-style continuity.
RIGGING THE RULES
Lavine continues to push for stripping power from the University Senate. With Mnookin now in place, his goal is to finalize the removal of democratic checks on administrative power. He is clearing the path for an administration that can suppress dissent with total impunity and zero oversight from the campus community.
PROFITING FROM "DISTRESSED DEBT"
Lavine’s "leadership" is rooted in his time at Sankaty Advisors (Bain Capital Credit). He specializes in "distressed debt"—better known as Vulture Capitalism. As noted by The Nation, Bain's model often involves extracting value from struggling entities at the expense of workers. He is now applying this same "extractive" logic to Columbia, treating the university as a corporate asset rather than an educational institution.