U of Penn President Resigns Amid Pressure from Donors
Public pressure has finally paid off in regard to the horrifying and disgusting comments made by University of Pennsylvania President, Liz Magill.
Magill, with several other school presidents, appeared before Congress recently to discuss the rise of anti-Semitism in high-profile schools across the country, especially in Ivy League schools.
Her comments drew national outrage, finally resulting in Magill submitting her resignation.
She Really Said It
The comments came while the school presidents were being questioned by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who wanted to know if “calling for the genocide of Jews” violated Penn’s code of conduct.
Magill answered, “If the speech turns into conduct it can be harassment, yes. It is a context-dependent decision, congresswoman.”
Her comments, and like comments by other presidents, resulted in donors pulling funds from the schools.
For instance, Ross Stevens, a prominent donor, threatened to withdraw his $100 million donation unless Magill was replaced.
The chairman of the Ivy League school’s board of trustees, Scott Bok, had defended Magill as well as trying to justify her comments by saying Harvard President Claudine Gay and MIT President Sally Kornbluth gave similar responses to Stefanik, as if that made it any better.
Bok stated that Magill had made a “very unfortunate misstep — consistent with that of two peer university leaders sitting alongside her — after five hours of aggressive questioning before a congressional committee.”
Bok later announced that not only was Magill resigning, but he too had submitted his resignation, stating, “Following that, it became clear that her position was no longer tenable, and she and I concurrently decided that it was time for her to exit.”
Stefanik responded to the resignation with a subdued victory lap, noting, “One down. Two to go.”
She added, “This is only the very beginning of addressing the pervasive rot of antisemitism that has destroyed the most ‘prestigious’ higher education institutions in America.”
This was far from the only fallout, as reports have been breaking for weeks that parents are reconsidering sending their children to Ivy League schools as well as pulling students already enrolled from these programs.
Magill is a former U.S. Supreme Court law clerk, having worked for the University of Virginia before being named the 9th president of the University of Pennsylvania in 2022.
