UPenn president resigns amid backlash over antisemitism response

(NewsNation) — The president of the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), Liz Magill, has resigned Saturday at the request of the board of trustees amid backlash following her response to questions during House testimony of the rise in antisemitism on campus.

Board of Trustees Chairman Scott Bok also said he would step down following the announcement of Magill’s resignation.

“It has been my privilege to serve as President of this remarkable institution,” Magill wrote in a press statement. “It has been an honor to work with our faculty, students, staff, alumni, and community members to advance Penn’s vital missions.” 

UPenn’s Wharton business school board sent a letter to the board of trustees Friday after receiving no reply to a letter they sent on Thursday to Magill, in which they requested her resignation, according to Axios.

Magill decided to “voluntarily” tender her resignation, according to the statement, but will remain a tenured faculty member at Penn Carey Law and has agreed to stay on until an interim president is appointed.

Her resignation also comes as major donor Ross Stevens withdrew a gift worth around $100 million to protest the school’s response to antisemitism on campus.

Leaders at prestigious universities have been facing backlash for their response to antisemitism on campus.  Over 70 lawmakers signed a bipartisan letter on Friday calling for the resignation of Magill, Harvard University President Claudine Gay and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) President Sally Kornbluth.

At a House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing, lawmakers pressed the presidents on what they were doing to protect Jewish students on campus.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, 73% of Jewish college students have experienced or witnessed some form of antisemitism since the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year. 

There were several tense moments between representatives and the university presidents at the congressional hearing. 

Magill was asked if calling for the genocide of Jews violated the code of conduct on bullying and harassment. Magill said the question needed context.

Magill later made a video posted on the University of Pennsylvania’s X page saying that “a call for genocide for Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetuate.” 

“It’s evil,” Magill said in the video. 

Now, Congress has opened an investigation into MIT, UPenn and Harvard. 

Gay apologized for her responses to questions during the hearing.

“I am sorry,” Gay told student newspaper The Harvard Crimson. “Words matter.” 

“When words amplify distress and pain, I don’t know how you could feel anything but regret,” she added. 

Rallies and protests continue on some campuses, calling for a cease-fire and for hostages to be released from Hamas captivity. But other anti-Israel protests and hate incidents have led to concerns, including vandalism and controversial or threatening messages heard and seen on some campuses. 

While lawmakers and others have been vocal about antisemitism in colleges, some say similar increases in Islamophobia since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel aren’t getting as much attention, NewsNation partner The Hill reports. 

Recently, three Palestinian college students in Burlington, Vermont, were shot while visiting one of their homes for Thanksgiving break. Police are investigating the shooting, which left one student paralyzed, as a potential hate crime. 

NewsNation’s Ryan Bass and The Hill contributed to this report.