Pa. House GOP leader tells Penn how it can address antisemitism concerns to get blocked funding for vet school
House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler said specific actions would address lawmakers’ concerns, including “an unequivocal public statement” that antisemitism violates the school's code of conduct.
Pennsylvania House Republicans announced Wednesday that they would form a task force to address concerns about antisemitism at the University of Pennsylvania, and suggested lawmakers would continue to block state funding for the university’s veterinary school until its leaders meet specific demands.
In a letter to Penn on Wednesday, House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler (R., Lancaster), laid out actions that he said would address lawmakers’ concerns, including “an unequivocal public statement” from Penn that antisemitism and calls for the genocide of Jewish people violate the school’s code of conduct. He said a task force of five Republican state lawmakers would work with the school on showing its commitment “to rooting out and protecting against antisemitism.”
The letter represented the latest development in ongoing fallout over former Penn president Liz Magill’s comments at a congressional hearing on antisemitism this month, when she said that determining whether calling for the genocide of Jews violates the school’s code of conduct was “context-dependent.”
”Penn Vet and the Commonwealth have traditionally enjoyed a non-controversial relationship that recognizes Penn Vet’s extraordinary contributions to veterinary medicine and our state’s agricultural foundation,” Cutler wrote in the letter, addressed to Penn interim president J. Larry Jameson and vet school dean Andrew Hoffman. “However, months of disturbing reports of antisemitic activity at the University of Pennsylvania (’Penn’) have been more than troubling to many members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly and the Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus in particular.”
A Penn spokesperson said in a statement that the school will “respond shortly” to Cutler’s letter.
“Interim President J. Larry Jameson and Dean Andy Hoffman appreciate that members of the legislature want to find a path forward on funding the School of Veterinary Medicine,” the spokesperson said. “As part of Penn’s Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism, we pledged to engage broadly and deeply and welcome input from all who share our commitment to combatting hate in all its forms.”
In the days after Magill’s testimony, Cutler said he’d seek to withhold $33 million in annual funding for Penn’s veterinary school from this year’s state budget until the university proved it could keep students safe from antisemitism. Even after her resignation last week, House Republicans blocked the funding while approving other parts of a state budget deal.
Penn Vet has received some form of state funding since 1889, and the $33 million in state money accounts for about one-fifth of its annual budget.
Those funds, which require approval from two-thirds of the General Assembly, are now likely in limbo until at least March, when the House will return to Harrisburg.
Cutler said the task force will help the university work toward specific goals, including: a public statement from Jameson or the next Penn president that calling for the genocide of Jews is against school policy; support from Penn on a package of state bills meant to address antisemitism; a discussion of legislation about free speech; and a review of student organizations and university spending to make sure there is no financial support going toward antisemitic causes.
He said the task force also hopes to meet with Penn’s board of trustees.
The task force has five members: Rep. Jesse Topper (R., Bedford), Rep. Aaron Kaufer (R., Luzerne), Rep. Rob Mercuri (R., Allegheny), Rep. Kristin Marcell (R., Bucks), and Rep. Tom Jones (R., Lancaster). Their work is intended to “supplement” investigations by the U.S. Department of Education and a congressional committee, Cutler said.
He said that while Magill’s resignation and a new university-led task force to address antisemitism on campus are “good first steps towards change,” the efforts won’t have an immediate impact because the university task force’s first report is due in February and the final report will be issued in May.
“It will not help students currently enrolled at the university experiencing this abhorrent form of hate, and it will be too late for students currently deciding whether to attend Penn,” Cutler added.
While Cutler said his task force will start work soon, he did not provide a timeline for the goals in the letter.