University of Pennsylvania president steps down amid criticism of antisemitism testimony

University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill resigned from her post Saturday after facing intense criticism from the White House, lawmakers and alumni for appearing to dodge a question at a congressional hearing on campus antisemitism. “I write to share that President Liz Magill has voluntarily tendered her resignation as President of the University of Pennsylvania,” Scott L. Bok, the chair of the Penn Board of Trustees, wrote in a message to the Penn community Saturday. “I concluded that, for me, now was the right time to depart,” Bok said in the statement. In their testimonies, the three university leaders each condemned antisemitism. Following Bok’s resignation, the board’s vice chair, Julie Platt, was named interim chair and will serve until a successor is appointed, the university said.