The University of Pennsylvania’s (UPenn) board of trustees held an emergency meeting Thursday after President Elizabeth Magill refused to say Tuesday if students’ calls for genocide against Jews violated UPenn’s code of conduct, according to CNN.
Magill backtracked Wednesday from her statements at a House Education Committee hearing Tuesday, and one donor who gave $100 million withdrew his donation due to Magill’s comments as she has received widespread backlash from students, donors and faculty, according to CNN. The Wharton Board of Advisors, which leads the university’s business school, called for a leadership change following her congressional testimony. (RELATED: UPenn Loses $100 Million Donation Over President’s Remarks During Congressional Hearing)
“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,” a letter from the Wharton Board of Advisors to Magill reads, according to CNN.
YouTube – Screenshot – House Committee on Education and the Workforce
“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 any offenders expeditiously,” the letter continues.
Members of the Board of Trustees include former Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky, Related Companies CEO Jeff Blau, Blackstone exec David Blitzer, BET CEO Scott Mills and billionaire and NFL owner Josh Harris, according to the Wharton Board of Advisor’s website.
Harvard President Claudine Gay and Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) President Sally Kornbluth also refused to say during the Tuesday hearing whether anti-Jewish chants constituted violations of their codes of conduct, and Gay later backtracked on her statement as well. The House Committee on Education and the Workforce opened an investigation into Harvard, UPenn and MIT Thursday following the testimony.
UPenn alumnus and billionaire Jon Huntsman Jr condemned the university’s “silence” on Hamas’ attack against Israel and stopped donating to UPenn. Magill initially did not refer to Hamas as a terrorist organization until after Huntsman said his family would stop giving to the university.
The Wexner Foundation, founded by billionaire Leslie Wexner, stopped donating to Harvard following the university’s response to antisemitism on campus.
UPenn did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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