UPenn leader resigns over recent testimony about antisemitism
Furor began after vague replies at House hearing
WASHINGTON – University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill has resigned amid an uproar over her recent congressional testimony that raised questions from the White House, donors and alumni about how the elite school handles antisemitism on campus.
In a campus email Saturday afternoon, Scott Bok, chair of Penn’s board of trustees, announced Magill, Penn’s ninth president, voluntarily submitted her resignation. Magill will stay on as president until an interim president is appointed, and she will remain a tenured faculty member at Penn Carey Law, Bok wrote.
In a statement shared by Bok, Magill said, “It has been my privilege to serve as President of this remarkable institution. It has been an honor to work with our faculty, students, staff, alumni, and community members to advance Penn’s vital missions.”
Magill and the presidents of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have all faced a fierce backlash over their testimony on Tuesday before the Republican-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce, which is examining the rise of antisemitism as campuses have become hotbeds for protests, anti-Jewish graffiti and harassment of students.
The furor directed at the three college leaders was triggered partly by their response to questions about whether calling for the genocide of Jews violates their schools’ code of conduct against bullying and harassment.
Magill and the other two presidents – Harvard’s Claudine Gay and MIT’s Sally Kornbluth – gave carefully worded responses that danced around the question despite repeated attempts by Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to get them to answer.
“If the speech turns into conduct, it can be harassment. Yes,” Magill said.
Stefanik, who asked Magill, Gay and Kornbluth some of the most pointed questions at last week’s hearing and has opened her own investigation of their respective institutions, posted “One down. Two to go,” on X.
“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 forced resignation of the President of @Penn is the bare minimum of what is required,” wrote Stefanik, a graduate of Harvard.
U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, also took a victory lap: “I welcome her departure from UPenn,” she said in an emailed statement.
Critics argued the vague response suggested the university would not adequately stand up to antisemitism. Even the White House weighed in, with President Joe Biden’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, saying calls for genocide are “counter to everything this country stands for.”
Two days after the hearing, the House panel announced it would investigate the policies and disciplinary procedures at Penn, Harvard and MIT.
Magill walked back some of her comments, saying a call for the genocide of Jewish people would be considered harassment or intimidation. She also called for a review of Penn’s policies, saying they have long been guided by the U.S. Constitution but need to be “clarified and evaluated.”