Following Liz Magill’s announcement of her departure, UPenn is now seeking a new president. A Republican senator was enraged by Magill’s evasive and unproductive responses when she recently testified before Congress on anti-Semitism on US college campuses. In addition to alienating a significant contributor, she incited a furious reaction from her own university. She attempted to avoid the controversy at all costs, but she was ultimately forced to resign.
Along with MIT President Sally Kornbluth and Harvard President Claudine Gay, Magill spoke before a congressional committee investigating anti-Semitism on December 5. Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY) queried all three during the debate whether their colleges’ policies would be violated by a demand for the murder of the Jews. None of them would respond with a straightforward “Yes,” much to her apparent surprise. If “the speech turns to conduct, it can be harassment,” as Magill put it, it would be a policy violation; this would imply that perpetrating genocide against Jews may be considered harassment, but simply asking for it would not be.
Stefanik was irate and appeared to be struggling to control her terror as she fruitlessly attempted to persuade the three of them that calling for a new Holocaust is unacceptable. Ross Stevens, a $100 million contributor to Penn, was not pleased with Magill’s equivocation and decided to rethink his choice once a new president was in office. In a letter to Penn’s administration, the Wharton Business School board demanded that the president be removed from office without delay.
So far, Gay and Kornbluth have both held on to their positions; Magill, too, attempted to remain in her position, rescinding her remarks the following day in a contrite apology broadcast on television. But she gave in to the increasing pressure and announced her retirement on December 9. She will remain in her position until a successor is identified, but her tenure at UPenn is now officially over.
