Stone Ridge is not the first donor that has terminated its donations to UPenn for its poor response to the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
A major donor just announced they cut off a $100 million donation for the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) following UPenn President Liz Magill’s testimony on campus antisemitism that received wide backlash.
In a letter to UPenn’s Senior Vice President Wendy White on Dec. 7, Ross Stevens, founder and CEO of Stone Ridge Asset Management, said via his lawyers that his company would “retire” his donation units worth about $100 million from the university. The donation was supposed to fund the Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance at UPenn.
“Mr. Stevens and Stone Ridge are appalled by the University’s stance on anti-Semitism on campus,” the letter said. “Its permissive approach to hate speech calling for violence against Jews and laissez-faire attitude toward harassment and discrimination against Jewish students would violate any policies or rules that prohibit harassment and discrimination based on religion, including those of Stone Ridge.”
Along with UPenn’s position on campus anti-Semitism, Mr. Stevens and Stone Ridge also cited Ms. Magill’s move during and after the hearing for its decision to withdraw the donation.
“President Magill’s Dec. 6, 2023 post on X admitted as much when she belatedly acknowledged—belatedly acknowledged—only after her Congressional testimony went viral and demands for her termination amplified—that calls or genocide of the Jewish people constitute harassment and discrimination.”
The letter signals Ms. Magill to step down as a condition to discuss its donations. “Until then, there can be no meaningful discussion about remedying the University’s ongoing failure to honor its obligations,” the letter noted.
Stone Ridge is not the first donor that has terminated donations to UPenn for its poor response to the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
In an Oct. 15 open letter to Ms. Magill and Chairman Scott Bok, venture capitalist David Magerman announced that he refuses “to donate another dollar to Penn” and that he is “deeply ashamed” about his association with the university.
Other UPenn donors, such as private equity billionaire Marc Rowan, hedge fund billionaire Cliff Asness, and former U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman, have also vowed to stop donating to the university.
By Aaron Pan
