University of Pennsylvania board of trustees holds emergency meeting after intense House hearing
As University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill has come under fire for her testimony at a House hearing, the school’s board of trustees held an emergency meeting on Thursday and a donor is withdrawing a gift of around $100 million.
Additionally, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce is launching an investigation into University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The panel will investigate how the schools have dealt with the antisemitism Jewish students faced on campus, The Wall Street Journal reported.
In part, Magill is facing backlash because of her answer to the question Rep. Elise Stefanik asked: “Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Penn’s rules or code of conduct, yes or no?” Magill responded, “If the speech turns into conduct, it can be harassment.”
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When pressed further about the question, Magill said, “It is a context-dependent decision, congresswoman.” In response to the hearing, Magill faced scrutiny.
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, told CNN that he doesn’t “have confidence anymore that Penn is capable, under this leadership, of getting it right.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, criticized Magill’s response. “That was an unacceptable statement from the president of Penn. I thought her comments were absolutely shameful. It should not be hard to condemn genocide,” he said. The Wall Street Journal reported that Shapiro called for the University of Pennsylvania’s board of trustees to meet (he is a nonvoting member of that board).
“Does the testimony of their president under oath in front of Congress represent the values of the University of Pennsylvania and the views of the board of the University of Pennsylvania?” Shapiro asked, per The Wall Street Journal. “I think they need to meet and meet soon to make that determination.”
The board convened Thursday, CNN reported. “It is unclear whether the board gathering Thursday is related to Magill’s future at the school, but that topic is sure to be on the minds of board members.”
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Amid the backlash from the hearing, a donor withdrew his $100 million gift to the university that is currently in the form of shares, Axios reported.
Representatives of Ross Stevens, founder and CEO of Stone Ridge Asset Management, wrote in a letter obtained by Axios that was addressed to the school’s general counsel and senior vice president, “Its permissive approach to hate speech calling for violence against Jews and laissez faire attitude toward harassment and discrimination against Jewish students.”
“Mr. Stevens and Stone Ridge would welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter further and give the University a chance to remedy what Stone Ridge believes are likely violations of the LP agreement if, and when, there is a new University President in place,” the letter said, per Axios. “Until then, there can be no meaningful discussion about remedying the University’s ongoing failure to honor its obligations.”
Stevens isn’t the first donor to stop donating to University of Pennsylvania over the way it has dealt with antisemitism.
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Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman wrote in a letter to Magill that “The University’s silence in the face of reprehensible and historic Hamas evil against the people of Israel (when the only response should be outright condemnation) is a new low.” Huntsman said that the Huntsman Foundation “will close its checkbook on all future giving to Penn.”
After the hearing, Magill posted a video on X backtracking on her comments at the hearing.
“I was not focused on, but I should have been, the irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate,” Magill said in the video.
