Columbia University criticizes staff after files reveal Ivy League admits Jeffrey Epstein’s girlfriend in ‘unusual’ admission
Columbia University has fired members of its administration after newly released Epstein files revealed that the Ivy League school admitted the child trafficker’s girlfriend was “illegally admitted to the school,” according to school officials.
Upper Manhattan University has “taken action” against two people associated with the dental school after files released from the DOJ’s database of more than three million Epstein-related documents show that school officials had ties to and solicited donations from the disgraced financier, according to a statement from the university on Wednesday.
Karyna Shuliak, a native of Belarus and Epstein’s last known ex-girlfriend, was denied admission to Columbia University dental school in February 2012, according to the rejection letter.
A few weeks later, documents showed that Epstein had discussed enrolling Shuliak at the university as a transfer student.
On May 3, 2012, Shuliak received an email confirming that he had been admitted to the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine in the fall, according to the filing.
In a May 31, 2012, email between Epstein and Ira Lamster, dean of the College of Dental Medicine between 2001 and 2012, who left the University voluntarily in 2017, Lamster wrote that Shuliak would join the dental school in September, and that his visa would not be a problem because of his condition.
Shuliak graduated from the program in 2015, documents showed. He had previously completed four years of dental school in Belarus and moved to the US in 2010 without graduating.
Lamster, who was not among those disciplined by Columbia, told ABC News that he was introduced to Epstein in 2012 by a top dental school student when the late abuser was considering a large $5 to $10 gift to the university.
At the time, Epstein asked him about “someone who I believed was at work who was a dental student in Belarus,” Lamster wrote, according to the outlet.
He then agreed to refer Shuliak to another faculty member in charge of dental school admissions, ABC reported.
“At that time we were pursuing a big offer from [Epstein]and it was reasonable to agree [his] request. It was made clear to the director of admissions, however, that [Shuliak] it must be judged on the merits of his request,” Lamster wrote.
After evaluating Epstein, the college ultimately rejected his multibillion-dollar donation offer, Lamster told the media.
As Shuliak was about to start studying at the Ivy League, Epstein asked his accountant to send $100,000 to the Columbia School of Public Health, where Lamster had started working. The check was made out to the “Ira Lamster Fund,” and was hand-delivered to the school’s former principal, according to August 2012 filings.
“Thank you for the donation,” Lamster wrote in an email to Epstein on Aug. 17, 2012.
“This support will be of great help in introducing my dental health program to the public. I hope that the ‘Institute’ will have a positive impact by addressing important issues facing the dental field. I appreciate your friendship and generosity.”
Lamster told the ABC that he did not ask for the donation and did not believe the university would accept the money.
“I have not emphasized that there is nothing sad about being accepted into the CDM [College of Dental Medicine] and the gift, although I now realize that the optics were inappropriate,” Lamster wrote, according to the store.
Epstein also donated $50,000 to the dental school in 2014, according to DOJ filings.
“In total, the University is aware of $210,000 in donations from Epstein-related organizations,” Columbia University said in a statement Wednesday.
“In 2019, Columbia University became aware of connections between Jeffrey Epstein and individuals associated at the time with the University’s dental school, many of whom are no longer associated with Columbia,” the statement said.
“The materials recently released by the US Department of Justice contain additional communications, adding to what was previously known.”
“In short, the student was admitted to the dental school through an improper procedure, which involved soliciting money from the former educational leadership and students.”
The university added that fundraising discussions were conducted “at that time by the leadership of the dental school on a personal basis and not at the behest of the leadership of the medical center or the University.”
“It is important to note that the student in question, who came to dental school and graduated, has not been found guilty of wrongdoing as far as we know.”
Dr. Thomas Magnani, a former professor, was removed from his tenure at the school in connection with the findings in the files. Dr. Letty Moss-Salentijn will step down from her management position, the school said.
Columbia will donate $105,000 each to Girls Educational to New York-Nonprofit Girls Educational & Mentoring Services and Joyful Heart, to support sexual assault and human-trafficking survivors — essentially reciprocating Epstein’s donations.
