The University of Pennsylvania said Saturday (December 9) that Penn President Elizabeth Magill has resigned, following criticism of her previous stance on anti-Semitism on campus.
Magill was among three top university presidents who faced criticism after testifying Tuesday at a congressional hearing on the rise in anti-Semitism on college campuses since the outbreak of the Israeli-Kazakh war.
Magill agreed to stay on until an interim president is named, Penn Board of Trustees Chairman Scott Bok said in a statement posted on the university’s website Saturday.
“I would like to share that President Magill has voluntarily submitted his resignation as president of the University of Pennsylvania,” Bock said. Magill will remain a tenured professor at Penn Law, Bock said.
Magill, along with Harvard University President Claudine Gay and MIT President Sally Lornbluth, testified before a House committee Tuesday.
They sought to protect free speech but declined to clearly answer Rep. Elise Stefanik’s question about whether calling for Jewish genocide violated the school’s code of conduct on intimidation and harassment.
After the hearing, calls for Magill and Guy to resign grew. Magill posted a video Wednesday expressing regret, and Gay apologized Friday.
Jewish students, parents and staff have accused the schools of tolerating anti-Semitism, particularly statements by pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
“One resigned. Two are still gone. This is just the beginning of addressing the pervasive anti-Semitism that is destroying America’s ‘prestigious’ institutions of higher education,” Stefanik said on social media after Penn’s announcement.
She said Magill’s resignation was the “minimum required” and urged Harvard and MIT to take similar action.
(This article is based on a Reuters report.)