The University of Pennsylvania announced a new interim president on Tuesday days after their prior president Liz Magill resigned due to widespread criticism of her handling of reported antisemitism on campus.
Penn's Board of Trustees named Dr. J. Larry Jameson the University's interim president, the Daily Pennsylvanian first reported.
"I am honored that the Board of Trustees has asked me to serve as Penn’s Interim President. I accept this responsibility clear-eyed about the challenges facing our University. Like you, I love Penn," Jameson said in a statement sent out to the school. "The last few weeks have been a profoundly painful chapter for our institution, for higher education, and for the world. I know these recent leadership transitions have been distressing and destabilizing. I feel it myself. There is pain, fear, and uncertainty in our community. I want to reiterate that every person at Penn should feel safe and be secure in the knowledge that hate has no home here. This is fundamental, but it is not enough. Together, we create and share values that make the University of Pennsylvania an institution where creativity flourishes, innovation creates new tools and medicines, civil debate poses and addresses challenging societal questions, and learning prepares us all to make the world a better place"
Jameson has served as Executive Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System as well as Penn Medicine since 2011.
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"Penn is fortunate to have the benefit of Dr. Jameson’s experience and leadership during this time of transition. A consummate University citizen and the longest serving current dean, Dr. Jameson is a collaborative, innovative, and visionary leader with extensive engagement with each of Penn’s 12 schools," Penn's Interim Board of Trustee's Chair Julie Platt wrote in a message to the university's community on Tuesday. "Among other activities, he chaired the review of the School of Arts and Sciences, as well as the Consultative Committees for the selection of the Provost, the Dean of the Wharton School, and served on the Presidential Selection Committee. Dr. Jameson has a deep appreciation for Penn’s values and world-class research, teaching, patient care, and service."
Magill resigned on Saturday, several days after she testified on Capitol Hill during a hearing focused on antisemitism at U.S. universities. Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Dr. Sally Kornbluth and Harvard University President Dr. Claudine Gay also testified.
“It has been my privilege to serve as President of this remarkable institution. It has been an honor to work with our faculty, students, staff, alumni, and community members to advance Penn’s vital missions," Magill said in a statement shared by Penn's former Chair of the Board of Trustees Scott Bok.
Bok also wrote that Magill will remain a tenured faculty member at Penn's law school.
Shortly after the announcement was made that Magill had resigned, Bok resigned as well, as first reported by the Daily Pennsylvanian.
Platt was named Penn's Interim Board of Trustee's Chair following Bok's resignation.
Some students on campus shared their thoughts with NBC10 after the news of Magill's resignation broke.
“I think it’s a bit wild, I think she kinda got strong armed out of the position," freshman Justin Monchias said.
"Removing her does alleviate some of that hurt—it doesn’t alleviate everything, but I think making such a big act such as removing our president, it makes people feel like things can change,” freshman Alecia Camera said.
The investigation is part of the Biden administration’s effort to take “aggressive action” against discrimination. Schools found to have violated civil rights law can face penalties up to a total loss of federal money, although the vast majority of cases end in voluntary settlements.
Penn was accused of antisemitism in federal complaints filed in November by the Brandeis Center, a Jewish legal advocacy group.
In a Nov. 9 letter to the Education Department, the center said Penn professors have made antisemitic statements in the classroom and on social media. It also said many Jewish students are afraid to be on campus during pro-Palestinian rallies, and that the university has done little to support them.
During a hearing on Capitol Hill on Dec. 5, Magill was questioned about several issues, including the comments from the Penn professors, a fall event that featured speakers that drew concerns from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and a pro-Palestinian rally on campus that sparked accusations of antisemitism.
An exchange towards the end of the hearing between Magill and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) also sparked controversy. Stefanik repeatedly asked Magill if calling for the genocide of Jews violated Penn’s code of conduct to which Magill was unable to give a direct “yes or no” answer.
Stefanik took to social media on Saturday to share her reaction to Magill's resignation.
During an appearance at a Philadelphia Jewish restaurant that was protested by a pro-Palestinian group, Gov. Josh Shapiro criticized Magill’s exchange with Stefanik, calling it a “failure of leadership.”
"She needed to give a one word answer and she failed to meet that test," the governor said.
He continued, saying the board of directors at the university had a "serious decision" to make concerning whether Magill's comments represent the values of the Ivy League institution and the values of the board of the University of Pennsylvania.
Magill expanded on her answer on Wednesday, saying a call for the genocide of Jewish people would be considered harassment or intimidation.
“I was not focused on, but I should have been, the irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate,” Magill said in a video statement released by the university. “It’s evil, plain and simple.”
Magill called for a review of Penn’s policies, which she said have long been guided by the U.S. Constitution but need to be “clarified and evaluated” as hate spreads across campus and around the world “in a way not seen in years.”
The Republican-led House committee also announced Thursday it will investigate the policies and disciplinary procedures at Penn, Harvard and MIT in the aftermath of Tuesday's hearing.
Despite calls for Dr. Gay to resign as well, Harvard University announced Tuesday that she will remain in office.
Two Penn students also recently filed a lawsuit against the school, claiming the university had become an "incubation lab" for antisemitism.
On Thursday, Ross Stevens -- a 1991 Wharton graduate and CEO of the New York-based financial services firm Stone Ridge Asset Management -- threatened to withdraw his $100 million donation from Penn's business school unless there was a change of leadership.
Stevens was one of multiple Penn donors and alumni who were critical of the university’s response to antisemitic acts on campus — including a swastika drawn inside the design school building and vandalism at the Hillel chapter there — that happened before Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
A protest was also held at Penn calling for Magill's resignation while a truck with the message, "Fire Liz," was spotted driving around campus over the past few days.
Magill became Penn’s ninth president back on July 1, 2022. She had previously served as Executive Vice President and Provost at the University of Virginia and the Richard E. Lang Professor and Dean of the Stanford Law School prior to her tenure at Penn.
