What former UPenn president Liz Magill said about her disastrous congressional testimony
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Former UPenn president Liz Magill testifying before the House Education and Workforce Committee in 2023. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
In her first extensive interview since her widely criticized congressional testimony on antisemitism, former UPenn president Liz Magill said her testimony lacked "common sense and humanity."
The big picture: Magill's appearance on Capitol Hill came as universities were grappling with how to respond to the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel and student protests on college campuses.
- Magill ignited what she called a "maelstrom" of criticism by not explicitly stating that calling for the genocide of Jews would violate the university's conduct code, instead saying it was a "context-dependent decision."
- She and UPenn's former board chair, Scott Bok, resigned within days of the uproar.
Zoom in: Magill told Politico she regretted that her response had harmed the university's reputation and made her seem insensitive following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
- Magill's answer sounded too "legalistic," Bok, who wrote a book detailing the fallout, told the outlet.
What they're saying: Few people thought Magill's "context-dependent" soundbite would become the "defining moment" of her presidency.
- Magill said her apology did little to soothe the "utterly untenable" situation once her testimony exploded.
- "I couldn't keep being president with the wide variety of board views about what I should do going forward," she said.
Yes, but: "One of the ironies about Liz Magill's testimony was that technically she was correct on the law," Greg Lukianoff, president and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, told the outlet. "It is a matter of context."
Between the lines: Magill spent several days preparing to testify with high-powered Washington, D.C., law firm WilmerHale, per Politico. Topics ranged from Penn's DEI programs to transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
- Bok lamented that Magill hadn't received guidance from political consultants about how to handle lawmakers' pointed questions.
By the numbers: Magill, who left UPenn after less than two years at the helm, received $2.3 million in total compensation the year she resigned, per the Inquirer.
What we're watching: Magill, a visiting law professor at the London School of Economics, held a fellowship last year at Harvard and has been giving lectures and writing essays about academic freedom and a current U.S. Supreme Court case.
The bottom line: She isn't bitter about how her UPenn tenure ended.
- "It may have been an impossible situation," she said. "But it was my job to steer Penn through."