The president of the University of Pennsylvania, M. Elizabeth Magill, resigned on Saturday, four days after she appeared before Congress and appeared to evade the question of whether students who called for the genocide of Jews should be punished.

Support for Magill, already shaken in recent months over her approach to a Palestinian literary conference and the university’s initial response to the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, unravelled after her testimony. Influential graduates questioned her leadership, wealthy contributors moved to withdraw donations, and public officials besieged the university to oust its president.

By Saturday evening, a day before Penn’s board of trustees was expected to meet, Magill said that she would quit. Scott L. Bok, the board’s chairman, said in an email to the Penn community that Magill had “voluntarily tendered her resignation”.

Less than an hour later, Bok announced that he, too, had resigned, deepening the turmoil at one of the nation’s most prestigious universities.

Magill is the first university president to step down in connection with the uproars that have engulfed campuses since the Hamas attack and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza. Other presidents remain under pressure. On Friday, more than 70 members of Congress called for the firings of Magill and two presidents who appeared alongside her in Washington on Tuesday, Claudine Gay of Harvard and Sally Kornbluth of MIT.

But her resignation has alarmed faculty members worried about academic freedom. In response to Magill’s resignation, a group of Penn professors denounced what they saw as outside interference that imperilled the university’s integrity.

Magill, in a two-sentence statement on Saturday, made no reference to the outrage surrounding her testimony. She said only: “It has been my privilege to serve as president of this remarkable institution. It has been an honour to work with our faculty, students, staff, alumni and community members to advance Penn’s vital missions.”

Bok said that Magill, who became Penn’s president last year, would remain as the university’s leader until an interim president is chosen. She will also stay at Penn as a faculty member in the law school. Bok’s resignation took effect immediately, and the vice-chair of Penn’s board, Julie Platt, assumed his post on an interim basis.

Platt, who chairs the Jewish Federations of North America’s board, is not expected to lead the Penn board permanently.

Since October 7, university presidents have sought to balance the free-speech rights of pro-Palestinian demonstrators with fears that some of their language is antisemitic. But Magill’s lawyerly approach to her own speech during her appearance before a House committee on Tuesday immediately left her vulnerable to attacks.

“Calling for the genocide of Jews,” Stefanik asked, “does that constitute bullying or harassment?”

Magill replied: “If it is directed and severe, pervasive, it is harassment.”

Stefanik responded: “So the answer is yes.”

Magill said: “It is a context-dependent decision, congresswoman.”

Stefanik exclaimed: “That’s your testimony today? Calling for the genocide of Jews is depending upon the context?”

After Magill’s appearance, Bok said in an email on Saturday, “it became clear that her position was no longer tenable, and she and I concurrently decided that it was time for her to exit”.

He also defended Magill.

“Worn down by months of relentless external attacks, she was not herself last Tuesday,” he wrote. “...she provided a legalistic answer to a moral question, and that was wrong. It made for a dreadful 30-second sound bite in what was more than five hours of testimony.”

New York Times News Service