Officials from the country’s top universities are being hit with a wave of political and financial backlash after the presidents of three Ivy League schools gave Congressional testimony addressing on-campus antisemitism last week. With leadership at the University of Pennsylvania forced to resign, the president of Harvard under investigation for plagiarism amidst a faculty protest, and millions of dollars from donors being withdrawn, colleges are now scrambling for damage control before the firestorm spreads.
As Valuetainment previously reported, University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill, Harvard President Claudine Gay, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth appeared before the House Education Committee on Tuesday to explain so-called hate speech policies at their respective schools. All three officials clumsily dodged questions from Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) about whether calls for genocide against Jews violated the universities’ code of conduct, with each arguing that it would “depend on context.”
🚨🚨🚨Presidents of @Harvard @MIT and @Penn REFUSE to say whether “calling for the genocide of Jews” is bullying and harassment according to their codes of conduct. Even going so far to say it needs to turn to “action” first. As in committing genocide.
THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE AND… pic.twitter.com/hUY3SgoOOi
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) December 5, 2023
Related: Ivy League Presidents OK Calls for Jewish Genocide in Certain Contexts
In the wake of this testimony, new levels of cultural outrage and political scrutiny were directed against all three universities, threatening larger consequences for the faculty.
First to fall was UPenn President Liz Magill, who resigned from her position on Saturday. Despite extensive external and internal pressure for her to do so, the Board of Trustees at the University of Pennsylvania announced that Magill’s departure was completely voluntary, further stating that she “will remain a tenured faculty member at Penn Carey Law.”
“It has been my privilege to serve as President of this remarkable institution,” Magill said in a statement. “It has been an honor to work with our faculty, students, staff, alumni, and community members to advance Penn’s vital missions.”
Less than an hour after Magill stepped down, Board of Trustees Chairman Scott Bok tendered his own resignation for unspecified reasons.
One of the primary voices calling for all three university presidents to “resign in disgrace” was billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who accused the women of being “morally bankrupt.”
The presidents of @Harvard, @MIT, and @Penn were all asked the following question under oath at today’s congressional hearing on antisemitism:
Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate [your university’s] code of conduct or rules regarding bullying or harassment?
The… pic.twitter.com/eVlPCHMcVZ
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) December 5, 2023
Ackman, a Harvard alumnus, had previously called on his alma mater to apologize for its half-hearted condemnation of Hamas’ attacks on Israel, further demanding the release of the names of students who participated in pro-Palestine/anti-Zionist demonstrations. The Pershing Square founder was joined in this effort by other big-money Harvard donors, many of whom withdrew millions in funding from the university as punishment.
Learn the benefits of becoming a Valuetainment Member and subscribe today!
Ackman’s criticism of Harvard President Claudine Gay has intensified since her Congressional testimony, and the billionaire now accuses her of being a “DEI diversity hire” picked for her race and gender.
“I learned from someone with first person knowledge of the Harvard president search that the committee would not consider a candidate who did not meet the [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] office’s criteria,” Ackman wrote on X. “Shrinking the pool of candidates based on required race, gender, and/or sexual orientation criteria is not the right approach to identifying the best leaders for our most prestigious universities.”
I learned from someone with first person knowledge of the @Harvard president search that the committee would not consider a candidate who did not meet the DEI office’s criteria.
The same was likely true for other elite universities doing searches at the same time, creating an…
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) December 7, 2023
At the same time, Gay has found herself under investigation by the university for allegedly plagiarizing three sections of her racially-charged doctoral dissertation in 1997. According to journalist and Manhattan Institute senior fellow Christopher Rufo, Gay stole entire paragraphs of her dissertation, entitled Taking Charge: Black Electoral Success and the Redefinition of American Policies, from works by legal scholar Carol Swain and race scholars Lawrence Bobo and Franklin Gilliam, among others.
EXCLUSIVE: @RealChrisBrunet and I have obtained documentation demonstrating that Harvard President Claudine Gay plagiarized multiple sections of her Ph.D. thesis, violating Harvard's policies on academic integrity.
This is a bombshell. 🧵
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) December 10, 2023
A statement from Harvard University about Claudine Gay’s future as president is expected in the coming days.
Bill Ackman also demanded that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology fire President Sally Kornbluth, promising not to “write a letter” if they terminate her immediately.
Add comment