Liz Magill, the former University of Pennsylvania president who resigned in disgrace after arguing that calls for the genocide of Jews could be permissible under campus rules, has been named dean of Georgetown University Law Center.
Georgetown announced the move in a Friday statement that lauded Magill as “an accomplished administrator who brings a values-driven vision to Georgetown Law.” It touted her “[n]ew [c]hapter” at the school after she “stepped down as president” at Penn “following the response to her congressional testimony about antisemitism on campus in the fall of 2023.”
That testimony saw Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) ask Magill if “calling for the genocide of Jews” constituted bullying or harassment. “It is a context-dependent decision, Congresswoman,” Magill responded.
Magill faced intense criticism in the wake of the hearing. Ross Stevens, an alumnus of Penn’s Wharton School of business and founder and CEO of Stone Ridge Asset Management, withdrew a $100 million gift from the school two days after the hearing, citing Magill’s “permissive approach to hate speech calling for violence against Jews and laissez-faire attitude toward harassment and discrimination against Jewish students.”
Magill was already facing an exodus of top donors going into the hearing due to her handling of the Palestine Writes festival—a university-sponsored event that brought a number of prominent anti-Semites to campus—as well as her response to Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack, which occurred shortly after the festival.
Magill defended Palestine Writes, saying the university “fiercely support[s] the free exchange of ideas as central to our educational mission.” At the same time, she moved to revoke tenure from a controversial law professor, Amy Wax, who criticized diversity, equity, and inclusion officials. In the wake of Oct. 7, meanwhile, Magill released a statement that equated Hamas’ terror attack with Israel’s “escalating” response and did not include the word “terrorism.”
