- Liz Magill stepped down from the her role as president on Saturday
- It comes following fierce criticism over her failure to properly address rising anti-Semitism on campus and a disastrous appearance before Congress on the matter
- The former president will remain a tenured faculty member at Penn Carey Law
UPenn president Liz Magill has resigned from her post amid fierce criticism over her poor handling of soaring anti-Semitism on campus.
The resignation comes just days after a disastrous hearing before Congress where she was summoned to try and explain her lack luster response.
In a statement, Magill said: ‘It has been my privilege to serve as President of this remarkable institution.
‘It has been an honor to work with our faculty, students, staff, alumni, and community members to advance Penn’s vital missions.’
Her resignation was confirmed on Saturday in an email to the UPenn community by Scott L. Bok, Chair of the school’s Board of Trustees.
UPenn president Liz Magill has resigned from her post amid mounting pressure over her failure to address anti-Semitism on campus
Magill resigned on Saturday following calls for her to quit which only ramped up after she appeared before Congress to explain her response to the anti-Semitism
‘I write to share that President Liz Magill has voluntarily tendered her resignation as President of the University of Pennsylvania. She will remain a tenured faculty member at Penn Carey Law,’ he said.
‘On behalf of the entire Penn community, I want to thank President Magill for her service to the University as President and wish her well.
‘We will be in touch in the coming days to share plans for interim leadership of Penn. President Magill has agreed to stay on until an interim president is appointed.’
Magill stepped down amid mounting pressure which only ramped up following the congressional hearing on Tuesday.
She appeared along with the heads of Harvard and MIT over their lack luster responses to attacks against Jewish students.
Magill was slammed for her testimony, in which she said that reprimanding students who call for a Jewish genocide was not paramount – but ‘context’ specific.
The House Education and the Workforce Committee said it will now probe the elite schools with the ‘full force of subpoena power,’ after presidents Claudine Gay, Sally Kornbluth, and Magill’s astonishing words and actions.
Her resignation comes after crisis talks where ‘nothing’ happened were held earlier in the week.
The former president will remain a tenured faculty member at Penn Carey Law
UPenn’s board held crisis talks on Tuesday but ‘nothing’ happened, according to sources. A second meeting was set for Sunday before the announcement came
The Board was due to meet again Sunday to discuss Magill stepping down before she offered to go.
At the time of her resignation, a petition calling for her to be sacked had received more than 26,000 signatures.
Magill had been in post since July last year, but her and it appears her poor stewardship of clashes between Pro Palestine and Israel supporters will become her legacy.
Several high profile donors threatened to withdraw or have already removed their funding amid the controversy.
Among them was Ross Stevens, the founder and CEO of New York-based Stone Ridge Asset Management, who said he withdrew his $100 million donation in disgust over Penn’s handling of anti-Semitism.