Donor and Wharton board chair Marc Rowan criticizes Penn’s arts and sciences school, drawing backlash
The remark — as well as others he made including an assertion that students rallying for Palestinians is more a reflection of “anti-Americanism” and “anti-merit” than antisemitism — continued to stir concern on the Ivy League campus about Rowan, who chairs Wharton’s advisory board. It also raised questions about the propriety of the leader of one of Penn’s boards publicly criticizing another school at the university.
A spokesperson for Rowan declined comment. Rowan during his comments said support for his efforts has grown, asserting that 27,000 have indicated their support of his ideas.Michael Poliakoff, president and chief executive officer of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, said it’s “well within the framework of a free society and open university for Mr. Rowan to criticize anybody.
“To say that only the pre-professional schools are intellectually rigorous and merit-driven is at best a glib and self-serving characterization,” Woubshet said. “It discounts the extraordinary value of an arts and humanities education, which is the lifeblood of any university of note.” In the aftermath of their resignations, Rowan sent what was characterized as his final email to the trustees, questioning the university’s instruction, faculty hiring and political orientation.
Poliakoff pointed to a December op-ed in the Wall Street Journal by Ron Hassner, a political science professor at Berkeley, that said in a survey he commissioned,That phrase refers to the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. It a rallying cry some have used to call for the destruction of Israel, but others use as a call for the liberation of Palestinian people from Gaza to the West Bank and within Israel.