What Penn’s leaked internal ‘talking points’ say about recent University controversies

Among the thousands of files leaked in an Oct. 31 cybersecurity attack on Penn were several memos that appear to have been internally circulated among employees with talking points about a range of controversial issues involving the University.

The documents — which were published on Nov. 1 by individuals claiming responsibility for the security breach — followed a series of mass fraudulent emails sent to the University. They included talking points on a variety of subjects, including former Penn President Liz Magill’s resignation, former President and Penn professor Joe Biden’s relationship with the University, and controversy surrounding University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School professor Amy Wax.

Alumni donations and admissions practices

One document outlined Penn’s policies on accepting financial donations from donor families with a child actively applying to the University.

“Given the important role that the college application process plays in the lives of so many of our donor families, we must take extra care to avoid the perception, on the part of any individual donor or our broader community, that philanthropy will influence an admissions decision,” the Jan. 20, 2023 document read.

The file added that “many alumni, parents and friends have established philanthropic relationships with Penn,” and that those connections — which include “annual gifts, payments or prior year pledges” — should not be prevented.

The initial emails — sent by the alleged hackers — criticized the University’s policy on accepting legacy applicants and students of Penn donors. 

“We hire and admit morons because we love legacies, donors, and unqualified affirmative action admits,” the Oct. 31 email read.

According to the leaked document, all Penn staff members “are required to make note of their interactions with parents and other close relatives of applicants and to post those notes on the relevant DAR CRM records.”

Magill’s resignation

Another document — titled “Some Key Points for Staff to Understand Regarding Liz Magill’s Testimony” — referenced then-Penn President Magill’s December 2023 congressional testimony. 

At the time, Magill testified that a call for the genocide of Jews would constitute harassment “if it is directed, and severe or pervasive” and characterized it as “a context-dependent decision.”

The testimony drew widespread condemnation from Penn donors, students, and politicians, ultimately leading to Magill and then-Penn Board of Trustees Chair Scott Bok’s resignations. 

In the two years since her resignation, Penn never publicly commented on the validity of Magill’s testimony.

“It was truthful to say that it is context-specific whether hateful speech legally constitutes bullying or harassment,” the leaked document read. “The legally correct answers to these questions are context specific. If the phrase is not repeatedly directed towards an individual or group of individuals who would reasonably be threatened by the words, then it would not legally be bullying or harassment.”

The document contained a “confidential” label, along with a statement that its contents were not approved for external distribution.

Biden’s relationship with Penn

A leaked document from January 2023 similarly outlined a set of “Talking Points” on Biden’s history with Penn. Biden previously served as a Benjamin Franklin Professor of Presidential Practice at the University.

The file included possible responses to several questions interrogating the relationship between Biden and the University, including “Biden’s appointment/role/compensation at Penn,” whether the University has “solicited and received foreign gifts to the Penn Biden Center,” and the “Discovery of Classified Documents.” 

In 2018, Penn established the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, which the president hoped would serve as a “gathering place” to foster the exchange of ideas. The center — which since garnered significant controversy — has waned in influence, and is now a part of the University’s broader Penn Washington programs. 

According to the leaked files, Biden’s tenure at Penn was “phenomenally successful.” 

“Penn is pleased with the role that President Biden played at the University and for his commitment to interact and engage with so many members of the Penn community,” the Jan. 23, 2023 document read.

Regarding the discovery of classified documents at the Penn Biden Center, the talking points stated that “it is not yet known how the documents ended up at the Penn Biden Center, but the White House has suggested that boxes may have been shipped there ‘in the course of the 2017 transition.’”

The discovery of classified information ultimately led to a special counsel investigation by the Department of Justice, which published its findings in February 2024. 

In the report, DOJ Special Counsel Robert Hur referred to Biden as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” and declined to press charges against the then-president.

Republican lawmakers alleged in 2021 that the University had failed to properly disclose millions of dollars in donations from Chinese entities to the center. Two years later, the allegation was revisited by the United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability in a hearing that included then-Penn President Magill.

The leaked document included a statement attributed to University spokesperson Ron Ozio that “the Penn Biden Center has never solicited or received any gifts from any Chinese or other foreign entity.”

“Since its inception in 2017, there have been three unsolicited gifts, from two donors, which combined [to a total of] $1,100. Both donors are Americans,” the statement continued. “One hundred percent of the budget for the Penn Biden Center comes from university funds.”

The document also included information outlining how “all foreign gifts received by the University are properly reported to the U.S. Department of Education as required by Section 117 of the Higher Education Act.”

Penn’s endowment structure

One of the leaked documents discusses Penn’s endowment, which is expected to face a 4% federal excise tax — nearly a three-fold increase from its current rate — starting July 1, 2026. 

The file noted that after the higher tax rate goes into effect, “Penn’s total tax expense will increase from an expected average of $20-25 million per year to approximately $60-70 million, assuming the current endowment size.” 

Additionally, the 4% excise tax rate will “likely represent approximately 6% of gross spendable on individual endowment funds over time,” the document stated.

Division of Finance Communications Director Annie Weinstein previously wrote to The Daily Pennsylvanian that it would not be “possible to provide a precise number” for Penn’s “student-adjusted endowment,” because that figure is calculated based on the Internal Revenue Service’s annual asset valuation.

The leaked document also detailed the structure of Penn’s endowment, in which approximately “one quarter of Penn’s endowment market value directly supports the Health System, a uniquely high level relative to peer institutions.”

Penn’s current endowment tax is derived from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which levied a 1.4% excise tax on private universities with endowments of more than $500,000 per student. In the 2024 fiscal year, Penn’s endowment grew by 7.1%, increasing from $21 billion to $22.3 billion as of June 30, 2024.

Penn’s response to antisemitism allegations

Another document included in the leaked files addressed the Palestine Writes Literature Festival which took place at Penn in September 2023. In the weeks leading up to the event, several of the festival’s speakers faced local and national backlash over past comments labeled as antisemitic by critics. 

In response to the criticism, Magill, Provost John Jackson, and then-School of Arts and Sciences Dean Steven Fluharty published a statement acknowledging concerns about several speakers who “have a documented and troubling history of engaging in antisemitism by speaking and acting in ways that denigrate Jewish people.”

“We unequivocally -- and emphatically -- condemn antisemitism as antithetical to our institutional values. As a university, we also fiercely support the free exchange of ideas as central to our educational mission,” the administrators wrote at the time. “This includes the expression of views that are controversial and even those that are incompatible with our institutional values.”

The leaked list of talking points emphasized Penn’s lack of involvement with the event and asserted that “University leaders actively responded to outreach regarding the event, through significant, ongoing conversation and correspondence with students, faculty, alumni, and local and national community leaders.” 

According to the document, both University and SAS leadership met “multiple times with students to listen and support them,” and a team of administrators “actively worked to address campus safety and to support students before, during, and after the festival.”

Amy Wax’s sanctions against Penn

A separate file outlined how Penn’s Development & Alumni Relations Offices staff should respond to alumni and donor inquiries about Wax — who was sanctioned by the University for her history of racist remarks.

Wax’s sanctions included a one-year suspension at half pay, the removal of her named chair and summer pay, and a requirement for Wax to note in public appearances that she is not speaking on behalf or as a member of the law school.

The document — accurate as of January 22, 2025 — stated that “Professor Wax failed to adhere to a basic standard of ethical and responsible conduct by treating students even-handedly and without harassment or discrimination.” 

“Any complaint seeking sanctions against a faculty member would follow the same process that occurred in this case,” one of the document’s talking points read. “Here, a complaint was brought to the Faculty Senate against Professor Wax after years of complaints from faculty, students, and alumni that she failed to adhere to a basic standard of ethical and responsible conduct by treating students even-handedly and without harassment or discrimination.”

In August, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by Wax against Penn as part of her longstanding battle, asserting that the University’s speech code violates civil rights law. In September, Wax filed a complaint appealing the court’s decision.

Consulting companies advising “Penn Forward”

In September 2025, Jameson announced a new campuswide strategic framework — titled “Penn Forward” — in an effort to shape the school’s future.

The announcement outlined six working groups that will each focus on one of six domains of action: Undergraduate Education and Innovation; Graduate and Professional Training; Research Strategy and Financing; Global Opportunity and New Markets; Access, Affordability, and Value; and Operational Transformation.

One document included in the leak details the involvement of consulting companies — specifically McKinsey & Company and Huron Consulting Group — in the development of the working groups. 

The Operational Transformation group, according to the document, “began work earlier than the other areas” and “is advised by Huron Consulting Group,” while three other working groups — Research Strategy and Financing, Global Opportunity and New Markets, and Access, Affordability, and Value — will be advised by McKinsey & Company. 

Undergraduate Education and Innovation and Graduate and Professional Training will have “slightly longer timelines to respect academic rhythms and faculty governance, but must still operate with urgency,” the document read.

In a September 2025 interview with the DP, Jameson explained that each of the working groups would consist of undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral students, as well as faculty, staff, and administrative support. Jameson’s remarks at the time did not mention the involvement of consulting companies.

“There are subject matter experts in each of these working groups, but there are also people who don’t necessarily bring content expertise who bring innovation and a deep commitment to our missions,” Jameson said in his interview.

The leaked document also emphasized that “advisory support from external firms is analytic and time-limited,” adding that “all key decisions and directions remain under Penn leadership.”

In his interview with the DP, Jameson said that the working groups would not be given “specific direction” but would instead bring together “different perspectives” that “curate the very best ideas.” 

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