M. Elizabeth Magill

M. Elizabeth Magill is an American legal scholar and academic administrator who served as the ninth president of the University of Pennsylvania. A former dean of the Stanford Law School and executive vice president and provost at the University of Virginia, her tenure at Penn was notably brief and ended following a controversial congressional hearing regarding antisemitism on university campuses. Her academic expertise lies in administrative law and constitutional law.

Early life and education

Martha Elizabeth Magill was born in Fargo, North Dakota, and grew up in the nearby town of Moorhead, Minnesota. She completed her undergraduate studies in history at Yale University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She then pursued a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law, where she served as executive editor of the Virginia Law Review. Following her legal education, she clerked for Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and later for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Academic career

Magill began her academic career as a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, where she taught for over a decade and was appointed the Joseph Weintraub–Bank of America Distinguished Professor of Law. Her scholarship focused on the structure of the federal government and the separation of powers. In 2012, she was appointed the Richard E. Lang Professor of Law and dean of Stanford Law School, succeeding Larry Kramer. During her deanship, she oversaw the launch of new programs and initiatives, including the Stanford Center for Law and History. In 2019, she returned to the University of Virginia as its executive vice president and provost, the chief academic officer under President James E. Ryan.

University of Pennsylvania presidency

On July 1, 2022, Magill succeeded Amy Gutmann as president of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League institution. Her appointment was announced by the Board of Trustees following a search chaired by Julie Beren Platt. Her early tenure involved launching the School of Nursing's new building and engaging with the Penn Compact 2022 initiative. However, her presidency became dominated by controversy, particularly regarding the university's response to the Israel–Hamas war and allegations of rising antisemitism on campus, which drew criticism from donors, alumni, and members of the United States Congress.

Congressional testimony and resignation

On December 5, 2023, Magill testified before the United States House Committee on Education and the Workforce alongside the presidents of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During the hearing, chaired by Representative Virginia Foxx, she was questioned about policies concerning speech calling for the genocide of Jews. Her legalistic answers, which emphasized context-dependent application of the university's code of conduct, were widely condemned as evasive. Facing intense backlash from the White House, prominent politicians like Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and influential donors including Marc Rowan of Apollo Global Management, Magill resigned four days after the testimony. She was succeeded on an interim basis by J. Larry Jameson.

Personal life

Magill is married to Leon Szeptycki, a professor of law at the University of Virginia and former executive director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. The couple has two children. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has served on the board of the Yale Corporation.

Category:American legal scholars Category:American university and college presidents Category:University of Pennsylvania people Category:Stanford Law School deans Category:University of Virginia faculty Category:1965 births Category:Living people