A billionaire alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania has called on donors to “close your checkbooks” until the schools leadership confronts the pro-Hamas and antisemitic sentiments on display following the terrorist attack on Israeli civilians.
Marc Rowan, CEO of Apollo Global Management, said he will cut off his giving to the University of Pennsylvania, where he is a member of the Wharton School Board of Overseers, until President Liz Magill and board Chair Scott Bok resign.
Mr. Rowan, a Wharton grad who gave $50 million to the business school in 2018, said that “leaders have for too long allowed this kind of anti-Jewish hate, which sanitizes Hamas’s atrocities, to infect their campuses. There must be consequences.”
“I call on all UPenn alumni and supporters who believe we are heading in the wrong direction to close their checkbooks until President Liz Magill and Chairman Scott Bok resign,” he said in an op-ed Wednesday in The Free Press.
His frustration comes over campus groups like Students for Justice in Palestine and even faculty blaming Israel for Hamas terrorists launching a surprise attack from the Palestinian-controlled Gaza Strip, killing hundreds of Israeli civilians.
Marc Rowan is a billionaire who has donated tens of millions of dollars to the Wharton School. Now, he’s calling on his fellow donors to “close their checkbooks” and stop funding campuses filled with anti-white, anti-Semitic lunatics.
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) October 11, 2023
Good for him! Let’s hope they finally… pic.twitter.com/eHFJcUJeEG
Julie Platt, vice chair of the University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees, responded Thursday with a statement condemning the “horrific assault on Israel by Hamas” and expressing support for the school’s leadership.
“The University has publicly committed to unprecedented steps to further combat antisemitism on its campus, reaffirmed deep support for our Jewish community, and condemned the devastating and barbaric attacks on Israel by Hamas,” Ms. Platt said. “The Executive Committee of Penn’s Board of Trustees has unanimously endorsed the actions taken by the University, and I have full confidence in the leadership of President Liz Magill and Chair Scott Bok.”
Mr. Rowan cited the school’s Palestinian Writes Literary Festival last month, which he said advocated ethnic cleansing of Jews, referred to them as “’European settlers” and repeated various “blood libels.”
Ms. Magill and other university leaders issued a statement ahead of last month’s festival, saying they unequivocally “condemn antisemitism as antithetical to our institutional values” while defending free expression.
“As a university, we also fiercely support the free exchange of ideas as central to our educational mission,” the statement read. “This includes the expression of views that are controversial and even those that are incompatible with our institutional values.”
Mr. Rowan also urged other academic donors to use their clout to fight “anti-Jewish hate” and “antisemitic rot.”
“UPenn is not alone in allowing this culture of hate to become mainstream,” Mr. Rowan said. “It is true for universities across the country. And it’s long past time for donors to take notice. Ultimately, the direction of these institutions is the responsibility of its president and its board of trustees.”
About 17.5% of UPenn’s undergraduates are Jewish, according to 2022 Ivy Coach figures.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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