A major University of Pennsylvania donor has withdrawn a $100m (£79.3m) grant after a controversial appearance in congress by the school's president.
President Elizabeth Magill met representatives alongside Harvard President Claudine Gay and Sally Kornbluth of MIT on Tuesday. But they caused anger after avoiding questions on how students calling for the genocide of Jews would be punished.
The donor, Ross Stevens, said he was “appalled” by her stance. US college campuses have seen angry protests since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted two months ago.
In an email, seen by the BBC, Mr Stevens said: “I have clear grounds to rescind Penn's $100 million of Stone Ridge shares due to the conduct of President Magill.”
The founder and CEO of Stone Ridge Asset Management, Mr Stevens told the university that its “permissive approach” to those calling for violence against Jewish people “would violate any policies or rules that prohibit harassment and discrimination based on religion, including those of Stone Ridge”.
The donation, in the form of limited partnership units in Stone Ridge, was gifted in 2017 to help the university create a finance innovation centre. There has been widespread backlash against the responses of the university leaders during their House testimony, specifically regarding the question from Rep Elise Stefanik.
“Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate [your university's] code of conduct or rules regarding bullying and harassment? Yes or no?” the New York congresswoman asked. The three university presidents did not reply yes or no, but said – in varying ways – that it depended on the “context”. New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat, called their statements “abhorrent”.
Ms Magill in particular has faced mounting scrutiny as to whether she can continue in her position.
She released a video on the university's website on Thursday apologising for her response during the hearing, saying that she was focused on the “university's long-standing policies – aligned with the US Constitution – which say that speech alone is not punishable”.
She added she should have been focused on the “irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate”, adding that it is “evil, plain and simple”.
While her apology on Wednesday was welcomed by some, Mr Stevens' letter appeared to call for her resignation. He said Stone Ridge would welcome the opportunity review its decision “if, and when, there is a new University President in place”.
CNN reported on Thursday evening that Scott Bok, the chair of Penn's Board of Trustees, would speak to Ms Magill about resigning in the coming days.
The House Committee on Education & the Workforce announced on Thursday that they will formally investigate Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology over “rampant antisemitism”.
“Committee members have deep concerns with their leadership and their failure to take steps to provide Jewish students the safe learning environment they are due under law,” the committee's chairwoman Virginia Foxx said in a statement.
Islamophobic attacks have also been on the rise on university campuses. The Department of Education has launched an investigation into multiple schools over alleged incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia.
— CutC by bbc.com
