Penn President Liz Magill resigns after testimony on antisemitism drew bipartisan criticism

[andym]

Last edited Sun Dec 10, 2023, 02:10 PM - Edit history (4)

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill has resigned amid growing bipartisan backlash against her congressional committee testimony on antisemitism and a semester marked by near-weekly protests, complaints by deep-pocketed donors, and widespread accusations of mismanagement since a controversial literary festival was held on campus earlier in the fall.

And minutes later, Scott L. Bok, chair of the board of trustees, announced that he was stepping down, too.

“It has been my privilege to serve as president of this remarkable institution,” Magill said in a statement shared by Bok. “It has been an honor to work with our faculty, students, staff, alumni, and community members to advance Penn’s vital missions.”

Bok said Magill, who will stay on as interim president until another interim is appointed, voluntarily offered her resignation.
[updated]

Read more: https://www.inquirer.com/education/liz-magill-resigns-penn-university-pennsylvania-20231209.html

---

Other news sources:
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/penn-president-elizabeth-magill-resigns/story?id105524003

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/09/business/upenn-board-of-trustees-meeting-liz-magill/index.html
As of 10:38 PM ET: "UPenn president Liz Magill and Board Chair Scott Bok resign after disastrous hearing on antisemitism" (CNN)
New York: In a stunning downfall for the leader of one of the world's most prestigious universities, Liz Magill, the president of University of Pennsylvania, voluntarily stepped down from the helm of the Ivy League school on Saturday following a torrent of criticism for her testimony about antisemitism on Capitol Hill Tuesday. Board Chair Scott Bok also resigned Saturday."

.

[Greybnk48]

1. Did any of the men resign? MIT? Harvard?

Just curious if she was the only one pinned with a Scarlet Letter A?

[sir pball]

3. What men are you speaking of?

All 3 are women.

[Greybnk48]

12. I thought the other two were male and had a knee-jerk reaction.

Pardon me. Reading comments on here, she sounds like it may be a good thing.

[maxsolomon]

22. The infamous DU knee-jerk reaction.

It's not ALWAYS about the misogyny.

[Jose Garcia]

6. LOL

[toesonthenose]

11. Actually yes, Scott Bok resigned. Penn BOT chairperson.

[ArkansasDemocrat1]

2. She cost UP $100 million

[FakeNoose]

4. Yep - it's probably too late to get that big-bucks donor back

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143166014

She cost the University way more than she was ever worth as a CEO.

[MistakenLamb]

5. money talks call your alma mater and raise hell against these presidents

[LetMyPeopleVote]

7. 1 gone, 2 more to go

Link to tweet

[Wonder Why]

8. We'll probably never know but I wonder if she was forced out because what she said was as bad to the

board as we thought it was or was it because it was her or $100M. Had the threat not been made to not donate, would they have just chastised her for what she said after she apologized or would they have removed her anyway? Were they doing the honorable thing or were the $$$ in their eyes making the decision for them?

[EX500rider]

13. My money's on the 100 million

[twodogsbarking]

17. End result is the same.

[ShazzieB]

18. Mine, too.

[twodogsbarking]

16. My thoughts too. At least she is gone. People in such positions should hold the bar higher for all.

[MichMan]

9. Still on campus getting a big salary as a law professor

[brooklynite]

10. UPDATE: UPenn board of trustees chair resigns following university president's departure

The chair of the University of Pennsylvania’s Board of Trustees resigned on Saturday, just after university President Liz Magill did the same following controversial comments she made at a House hearing on antisemitism this week.

Scott Bok, who announced Magill’s resignation Saturday, said minutes later that he would also step down, citing the congressional hearing scandal.

“Today, following the resignation of the University of Pennsylvania’s President and related Board of Trustee meetings, I submitted my resignation as Chair of the University’s Board of Trustees, effective immediately,” Bok said, according to The Daily Pennsylvanian. “While I was asked to remain in that role for the remainder of my term in order to help with the presidential transition, I concluded that, for me, now was the right time to depart.”

At the Tuesday hearing, Magill and other college leaders controversially said that it would depend on context whether comments calling for genocide of Jewish people would be considered harassment.

https://thehill.com/homenews/education/4352000-upenn-board-of-trustees-chair-resigns-following-university-presidents-departure/

[emulatorloo]

15. Thanks for posting this update.

[The Wizard]

14. Mincing words to cover prejudice

is a failure. Calling for he extermination of people because of their faith is still being debated nearly 80 years after after WW II.
Sounds like Trump after Charlottesville. Let's not forget "Jews will not replace us."
There are no good Nazis.

[Stuart G]

19. REMOVED BY POSTER.

[maxsolomon]

23. well stated. it was a Stefanik trap, as Michelle Goldberg noted.

welcome to DU.