The Graduation Issue 2026: 2023-24 Year in Review

Penn received significant national attention during the 2023-24 academic year, particularly following the resignation of former Penn President Liz Magill.

Controversy before Magill’s resignation

In September 2023, Penn faced backlash following the Palestine Writes Literature Festival.

Magill, Provost John Jackson Jr., and then-School of Arts and Sciences Dean Steven Fluharty responded with a statement addressing concerns about speakers who “have a documented and troubling history of engaging in antisemitism by speaking and acting in ways that denigrate Jewish people.”

The statement also explained that the festival was not organized by Penn.

Campus tensions further flared following the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel. In an Oct. 10 message to the Penn community, Magill wrote she was “devastated by the horrific assault on Israel” by Hamas, a militant group designated as a terrorist organization by the Department of State.

At the beginning of November, Magill unveiled a University-wide action plan to address antisemitism, prompting mixed reactions from both Jewish and Palestinian groups on campus. That same day, more than 20 Republican members of the United States Congress penned a letter to Magill criticizing Penn’s response. The Department of Education also opened an investigation into Penn over allegations of campus antisemitism.

On Dec. 5, 2023, Magill testified before Congress alongside the presidents of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in a hearing on antisemitism across higher education. Her remarks — including a statement that it was “context-dependent” whether calls for the genocide of Jewish people violate Penn’s code of conduct — provoked national backlash. 

Magill faced criticism from Penn Hillel, the White House, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and the state’s U.S. Senate delegation, as well as from students and donors. 

Four days later, she announced her resignation. Then-University Board of Trustees Chair Scott Bok stepped down minutes later.

On Dec. 12, Larry Jameson — who had served as both executive vice president of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and dean of the Perelman School of Medicine — was chosen  by the Board of Trustees to serve as interim president.

Politics and protests

Penn and Philadelphia also saw major political developments during the academic year.

In November 2023, Cherelle Parker — a 2016 Fels Institute of Government graduate — was elected as the first female mayor of Philadelphia. University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School lecturer Neil Makhija became the first Indian American elected as Montgomery County commissioner.

Former Benjamin Franklin Professor of Presidential Practice and former President Joe Biden’s connections to Penn reemerged in national headlines after a federal report found that he had knowingly retained classified documents from his vice presidency, including some discovered at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement. 

On April 25, 2024, pro-Palestinian activists set up the Gaza Solidarity Encampment on College Green. The group — composed of Penn students and members of the Philadelphia community — called on the University to disclose its investments and divest from companies linked to Israel.

After two weeks of protests and negotiations, the encampment grew to occupy both sides of College Green despite intensifying pressure from the University for demonstrators to disperse. Six student organizers were placed on mandatory leaves of absence and referred to Penn’s Center for Community Standards and Accountability.

On May 10, 2024, Penn Police officers in riot gear, assisted by Philadelphia Police Department officers, dismantled the encampment and arrested 33 people — including nine Penn students.

Scientific achievements

In 2023, Katalin Karikó, an adjunct professor of neurosurgery at the Medical School won the Nobel Prize in Medicine alongside co-laureate and Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research at the Medical School Drew Weissman. Their 2005 research was integral to the development of Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines, from which Penn has earned around $1.2 billion.

At a 2024 event at Hill College House, Karikó attributed her achievements to her indifference to others’ opinions.

“You know, people consider me unsuccessful because I was demoted, I didn’t get the grant, and so on,” Karikó said. “But every day, I [had] to solve a technical problem, and I felt successful when I did my experiments. Don’t let other people define you.”

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