1. Donor sends funds to Israeli schools that were once meant for UPenn due to anti-Semitism concerns
Philanthropist and businessman David Magerman, who has stopped his donations to the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) over anti-Semitism concerns, has chosen to donate the money to Israeli universities instead.
Magerman, an alumnus of UPenn, wrote an Oct. 15, 2023 letter announcing his decision to cut off donations to the Ivy League university, saying he is “deeply embarrassed by my association with and support for” UPenn. He cited his concerns about then-school President Liz Magill’s refusal to unequivocally condemn Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist massacre.
Harvard University will publish its financial report for 2024 soon, and many believe it will show a dropping revenue stream for the Ivy League school, The Crimson wrote.
Harvard depends on private donations to make up almost half of its revenues.
“There are many alumni who have concerns about what is happening at Harvard — what has happened at Harvard — and remain very much committed to the University and care deeply about its future,” Garber said, according to The Crimson.
3. Columbia loses millions of promised dollars due to failure to fight anti-Semitism
Billionaire Mortimer Zuckerman suspended millions of dollars in a planned donation to Columbia University, stating his disappointment with the Ivy League institution’s failure to combat anti-Semitism on campus.
A spokesperson from the Zuckerman Family Office told The Washington Free Beacon: “The recent decisions and actions taken by Columbia have been antithetical to the University’s mission and it is simply not the same institution it was when Mr. Zuckerman made the pledge.”
Harvard University megadonor Ken Griffin has pledged to stop donations to the Cambridge, Massachusetts school unless he sees major changes.
Griffin, who owns Citadel and Citadel Securities, said during a Tuesday conference in Miami that he’s pausing donations to Harvard, according to the New York Post.
In April 2023, Griffin made a $300 million gift to Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, according to CNN. Over the course of four decades, Griffin has donated over $500 million, Harvard previously said.
5. Yet another billionaire donor demands UPenn fix its anti-Semitism problem
Influential donors have been retracting their support from the University of Pennsylvania, citing concerns over anti-Semitism on campus following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. Now, billionaire Len Blavatnik, a philanthropist and noteworthy figure in the business world, has joined the growing list of benefactors expressing discontent with the university’s handling campus anti-Semitism.
“The university’s condemnation of Hamas’s terrorist attacks … is fundamental to its academic mission and responsibility,” Blavatnik wrote in a Monday letter to the university. “So, too, is your recognition that antisemitism is resurgent on campus and that immediate steps are needed.”
6. Donor pulls $100 million from Penn, says he may reconsider if Magill is replaced
After University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill testified before Congress that “calling for the genocide of Jews” on campus does not necessarily violate university rules, the school lost a $100 million donation. The megadonor says he is willing to reconsider— as soon as Magill is replaced.
Ross Stevens, CEO of Stone Ridge Asset Management, is a graduate of Penn’s Wharton Business School. In 2019, the school announced a new Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance. In 2017, Stevens donated limited partnership units in Stone Ridge, to fund the center.
This article was originally published at campusreform.org
