Amid internal strain and public scrutiny in the fall of 2023, Penn’s administration navigated the quiet but growing influence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on campus.
The governor’s unprecedented involvement at Penn intensified as the University faced pressure from students, donors, and politicians over concerns about antisemitism on campus. During the 2023-24 academic year, Shapiro helped shape Penn’s response to the controversy — including invoking a long-dormant state statute to appoint an observer to the University Board of Trustees.
Shapiro’s push to influence affairs at Penn — according to documents obtained and first reported by The Chronicle of Higher Education — came as on-campus activism increased in fall 2023.
The Palestine Writes Literature Festival, a celebration of Palestinian artists and writers, took place on campus in fall 2023 and hosted demonstrations of Palestinian culture, including dance performances, spoken poetry, and scholarly presentations. The event immediately drew criticism from students, trustees, and national Jewish groups, who objected to the inclusion of speakers alleged to have made antisemitic remarks.
That same semester, Penn Hillel was vandalized, a swastika was drawn on campus, and a wall adjacent to a Jewish fraternity house was defaced with antisemitic graffiti.
In November 2023, Shapiro appointed 1982 College graduate and Philadelphia-based lawyer Robert Fox as his representative on the Board of Trustees. Though governors are allowed to appoint a nonvoting observer to the board, they have not typically done so.
In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for Shapiro’s office wrote to The Daily Pennsylvanian that, “the Governor, Robb, and our Administration have regularly been engaged to combat hate and antisemitism at Penn and many other Pennsylvania universities, and we will continue to do so as we work to support students and create opportunities to succeed across the commonwealth.”
The governor’s appointment of Fox — along with the office’s broader agenda push — signaled a shift in Penn’s interactions with outside stakeholders as Fox sought to advance Shapiro’s agenda through his role with the University Task Force on Antisemitism.
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“Prior to recent events, it had always been well understood that Penn was a private institution, which was something quite different from a state-operated one,” former Board of Trustees Chair Scott Bok wrote to the DP. “Given all that has happened, getting back to a governance model appropriate for a private institution is going to be very challenging and likely take considerable time.”
Bok said that “Penn began to succumb to the influence of the state” at the end of 2023. He added that Penn’s adherence to external advice came from beyond the governor’s office; the University also began taking instruction from the federal government around the same time.
Bok resigned alongside former Penn President Liz Magill in December 2023, following Magill’s congressional testimony, where she said that whether or not calls for the genocide of the Jewish people violated Penn’s code of conduct was “context-dependent.”
Shapiro’s influence at Penn grew throughout the winter and spring of 2024. Documents revealed that the governor’s office pressured the University to ban Penn Students Against the Occupation of Palestine, the main pro-Palestinian advocacy coalition on campus. At the same time, the office worked closely with the Penn Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel student group.
In January 2024, an aide in the governor’s office sent Fox a document — apparently drafted by PIPAC — that listed several of the group’s priorities and included a call for Penn to publicly discipline students.
A month later, according to the Chronicle, a PIPAC student leader sent a document to Fox titled “Penn Against the Occupation Most Egregious Offenses.” The document called for the University to “de-accredit” the group — and do so publicly.
In April, Penn would go on to officially revoke the organization’s status as a registered student group and ban it from campus, citing the group’s failure “to comply with policies that govern student organizations at Penn.”
“As the university undertook the important work of rooting out antisemitism and all forms of hate from its campus, we engaged Robb Fox,” a University spokesperson wrote to the Chronicle. “Not only is Robb familiar with Penn as an alumnus, he also has a history of working with other colleges and universities. We’ve appreciated his input, which has helped us design and implement thoughtful programs that make our campus a safer and more welcoming place for everyone.”
Throughout the 16-day duration of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment in the spring of 2024, Penn continued to send Shapiro’s office advance notice of plans, negotiation documents, and the identities of protesters.
In a letter to an aide in Shapiro’s office during the encampment, a University administrator provided the governor’s office with a list of “codes and guidelines that will be cited to encampment protesters as potential areas of violation.”
The list — which included items such as “harassment, threats and/or intimidation” and “failure to provide identification” — contained violations that had not yet occurred.
After weeks of protests, rallies, and negotiations with administrators, Penn Police Department officers — assisted by the Philadelphia Police Department — dismantled the encampment and arrested 33 people, including nine Penn students, on May 10, 2024.
The move, which followed the University’s decision to place six student organizers on mandatory leaves of absence, drew strong criticism from members of the Penn community and local elected officials.
Later in the day, Manuel Bonder, Shapiro’s press secretary — when asked about the sweep — wrote in a statement that Penn had “made the right decision.”
“Unfortunately, the situation at Penn reached an untenable point,” he added.
