- Wharton's board of advisors is calling for change of leadership at the University of Pennsylvania.
- Penn's president, Elizabeth Magill, was criticized for her testimony this week on antisemitism.
Wharton's board of advisors is calling for an immediate change of leadership at the University of Pennsylvania.
"In light of your testimony yesterday before Congress, we demand the University clarify its position regarding any call for harm to any group of people immediately, change any policies that allow such conduct with immediate effect, and discipline all offenders expeditiously," the board wrote in a letter to Penn president Elizabeth Magill, according to Penn's student newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian. The Wharton School is Penn's business school.
The letter continued: "As a result of the University leadership's stated beliefs and collective failure to act, our board respectfully suggests to you and the Board of Trustees that the University requires new leadership with immediate effect."
Pressure is mounting on Magill — and the presidents of Harvard and MIT — after all three appeared before Congress this week to testify about antisemitism on campus. They came under fire after they evaded questions on whether calling for the genocide of Jews would violate their institutions' codes of conduct.
In response to those questions, Magill said: "If the speech turns into conduct, it can be harassment."
The school's board of trustees held an emergency meeting Thursday.
The board didn't vote on whether to oust her, but the matter isn't settled — the group will likely be meeting again in the coming days, The New York Times reported.
Late Thursday, asset manager Ross Stevens threatened to withdraw a donation to Penn worth roughly $100 million.
"Absent a change in leadership and values at Penn in the very near future, I plan to rescind Penn's Stone Ridge shares to prevent any further reputational and other damage to Stone Ridge as a result of our relationship with Penn and Liz Magill," he wrote.