Penn official condemns professor’s comments in support of Luigi Mangione, suspect charged in killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO
The professor has since retracted the comments.
A University of Pennsylvania deputy dean has condemned comments made online by an assistant professor in support of Penn grad Luigi Mangione, who is charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
“Her comments … were antithetical to the values of both the School of Arts and Sciences and the University of Pennsylvania, and they were not condoned by the school or the university,” Jeffrey Kallberg, deputy dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, said in a statement.
Julia Alekseyeva, an assistant professor of English and cinema and media studies, has since taken down the comments about Mangione, a 2020 Penn grad, said Kallberg, who will become interim dean of the arts and sciences school on Jan. 1.
» READ MORE: Luigi Mangione, Penn grad charged in slaying of UnitedHealthcare CEO, is fighting extradition to New York
“Upon reflection, … Alekseyeva has concurred that the comments were insensitive and inappropriate and has retracted them,” he said. “We welcome this correction and regret any dismay or concern this may have caused.”
Alekseyeva did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But on X, formerly known as Twitter, she said her posts were “completely insensitive and inappropriate, and I retract them wholly. I do not condone violence and I am genuinely regretful of any harm the posts have caused.”
The incident was first reported by the Daily Pennsylvanian, the student-run newspaper.
According to the DP, Alekseyeva wrote on TikTok Tuesday night: “I have never been prouder to be a professor at the University of P3nnsylvania [sic].” She also referred to Mangione on an Instagram story as “the icon we all need and deserve,” the newspaper reported.
U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, in a letter to Interim Penn president J. Larry Jameson, called for Alekseyeva to be fired.
Meuser, a Republican who represents parts of Northeastern Pennsylvania, called her comments “harmful, divisive, and inappropriate for an educator.”
“It is evident by her actions that she cannot be entrusted with guiding and mentoring students at any institution of higher education,” he wrote. “… It forces Congress to question whether safeguards are in place to ensure that faculty conduct reflects the ethical and professional standards in line with the university’s reputation as a center of excellence and thought leadership.”
He said he wanted an answer by Dec. 31 and warned that Penn’s response could influence its future federal funding.
There has been a flurry of social media posts in support of Mangione, 26, and against the health-care insurance industry since his arrest in Altoona earlier this week.
Mangione faces extradition to New York on murder charges. He is accused of shooting Thompson in Midtown Manhattan on Dec. 4, when the executive was in town for United Healthcare’s annual investor conference.