A wealthy donor has pulled a $100 million-dollar donation from the University of Pennsylvania after college President Liz Magill failed to take a strong stance against antisemitism at a committee hearing on the hill this week.
Ross Stevens, founder and CEO of Stone Ridge Asset Management, withdrew his gift this week.
“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,” Stevens’ attorney wrote in a statement.
From Axios:
Backstory: This isn’t the first time that Stevens has used his pocketbook to express disagreement with Penn policies. Earlier, he redirected a different $100 million gift from Penn’s business school to the University of Chicago.
- According to the New York Times, Stevens “changed his mind because he thought the school was prioritizing D.E.I. over enhancing the business school’s academic excellence.”
What’s next: The letter concludes by offering to discuss the matter further. But a source close to the situation tells Axios that the current intention is to withdraw the gift.
NEW: A wealthy donor to the University of Pennsylvania is withdrawing a gift worth around $100 million in protest of the school's response to antisemitism on campus. https://t.co/tIoWzhT9od
— Axios (@axios) December 7, 2023
