A prominent University of Pennsylvania donor is taking back a $100 million-valued contribution over the school’s response to an alleged increase in on-campus antisemitism since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel—and its president’s heavily condemned Tuesday testimony before Congress.
UPenn alum Ross Stevens, the CEO and founder of the financial service firm Stone Ridge Asset Management, announced the sizeable gift in December 2017, which was intended to build a center for finance innovation, Axios reported.
But on Thursday, his lawyers said in a letter to the university that it had broken the partnership agreement. “Its permissive approach to hate speech calling for violence against Jews and laissez faire attitude toward harassment and discrimination against Jewish students would violate any policies or rules that prohibit harassment and discrimination based on religion, including those of Stone Ridge,” they wrote.
Stevens’ move came on the same day that the school’s board of trustees held a crisis meeting to discuss the backlash to President Liz Magill’s statements. The U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce also announced a probe into UPenn, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Thursday, alleging that the schools inability to shut down student protests calling for “Jewish genocide” warranted the probe, according to CNN and Politico.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), a senior member of the investigating House committee, issued a statement on Thursday, calling the testimony she heard “pathetic and morally bankrupt” and promising to “use our full Congressional authority to hold these schools accountable for their failure on the global stage.”
The three university presidents were asked earlier this week during a Congressional hearting whether students “calling for Jewish genocide” would violate their schools’ conduct policies. All three noted that while they did not personally agree with any statements fulfilling those requirements, they may nonetheless be protected by free speech policies.
UPenn’s board of trustees, meanwhile, decided Thursday that Magill would remain in her position for now, despite growing pressure for her to step down.
