Magill’s conduct led to an exodus of top Penn donors
Liz Magill, the former University of Pennsylvania president who resigned in disgrace after arguing that calls for the genocide of Jews could be permissible under campus rules, has been named dean of Georgetown University Law Center.
Georgetown announced the move in a Friday statement that lauded Magill as “an accomplished administrator who brings a values-driven vision to Georgetown Law.” It touted her “[n]ew [c]hapter” at the school after she “stepped down as president” at Penn “following the response to her congressional testimony about antisemitism on campus in the fall of 2023.”
That testimony saw Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) ask Magill if “calling for the genocide of Jews” constituted bullying or harassment. “It is a context-dependent decision, Congresswoman,” Magill responded.
Magill faced intense criticism in the wake of the hearing. Ross Stevens, an alumnus of Penn’s Wharton School of business and founder and CEO of Stone Ridge Asset Management, withdrew a $100 million gift from the school two days after the hearing, citing Magill’s “permissive approach to hate speech calling for violence against Jews and laissez-faire attitude toward harassment and discrimination against Jewish students.”
Magill was already facing an exodus of top donors going into the hearing due to her handling of the Palestine Writes festival—a university-sponsored event that brought a number of prominent anti-Semites to campus—as well as her response to Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack, which occurred shortly after the festival.
Magill defended Palestine Writes, saying the university “fiercely support[s] the free exchange of ideas as central to our educational mission.” At the same time, she moved to revoke tenure from a controversial law professor, Amy Wax, who criticized diversity, equity, and inclusion officials. In the wake of Oct. 7, meanwhile, Magill released a statement that equated Hamas’s terror attack with Israel’s “escalating” response and did not include the word “terrorism.”
A number of prominent Penn donors—including computer scientist David Magerman, investor Jonathon Jacobson, and hedge fund manager Clifford Asness—said they would no longer contribute to the university in response. Their revolt came after billionaire Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, who chairs the Wharton Board of Advisors, called on donors to cease giving to the school until Magill resigned. She did so roughly two months later.
Georgetown’s announcement was preceded by a lengthy Politico piece declaring that “Magill’s comeback has begun.” It included an “exclusive interview” with Magill, who pledged to “lead from what you stand for — values and principles.” Politico also interviewed Magill roughly 18 months after her resignation in a piece headlined “The First Casualty in the War Against Elite Universities.” It said Stefanik’s questioning of Magill “demonstrated the power of using charges of antisemitism as a cudgel.” Georgetown Law’s head of communications, June Shih, is the wife of Politico senior legal affairs reporter Josh Gerstein.
Georgetown Law has faced anti-Semitism issues of its own. One of its professors, the University of Jordan graduate Lama Abu-Odeh, has used the law school’s online scholarly journal repository to submit papers that accuse Jews of controlling the media and paying black people to support Israel, the Washington Free Beacon reported in March 2024. Roughly one year later, Georgetown Law was slated to host a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist organization who served more than three years in Israeli prison. The school postponed the event following criticism from members of Congress.
Georgetown also maintains a campus in the Hamas-friendly Gulf state of Qatar, which has paid the university approximately $1 billion since 2005.
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