After the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel, donors to colleges and universities in the United States halted donations or cut ties with the schools over their responses to the attacks and the resulting antisemitism on campuses. The reaction has been called a donor backlash [1] [2] , donor revolt. [1] [3] , donor crisis. [4] , and donor uprising. [5]
At colleges and universities in the United States, private donors give to specific purposes, often site on universities' board of trustees, and can fill funding gaps. According to Indiana University's Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, educational institutions are second only to religious institutions as the largest recipient of donations in the United States. At Harvard University, for example, philanthropy is the single largest contributor of revenue, accounting for 45% of the university's income. [1]
In the aftermath of the October 7 attacks in 2023, there was a rise of anti-Israel speech and antisemitism on campuses, especially at elite universities such as the Ivy League. Major donors announced they would cut their ties and withhold donations to the schools in protest of the colleges' responses. [1]
After the escalation of pro-Palestinian encampments and occupations on college campuses in April 2024, at which there were concerns about antisemitism, safety of Jewish students, and violence, additional donors announced disassociations with colleges and universities and the cessation of donations. [6] [5]
At Harvard University, a coalition of student groups released an anti-Israel statement solely blaming Israel for the attacks on October 8. Only three days later did Harvard address the matter directly with a statement from then-president Claudine Gay that drew criticism from Jewish and Israeli students for not acknowledging the barbarity of the October 7 attacks. [1] [7]
On October 13, philanthropist Idan Ofer stepped down from the executive board of the Harvard Kennedy School, citing "lack of clear evidence of support from the University’s leadership for the people of Israel following the tragic events of the past week, coupled with their apparent unwillingness to recognize Hamas for what it is, a terrorist organization." [7]
On October 16, the Wexner Foundation cut ties with Harvard, citing the "dismal failure of Harvard’s leadership to take a clear and unequivocal stand against the barbaric murders of innocent Israeli civilians by terrorists." [8]
In September 2023, the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) hosted the controversial Palestine Writes Literary Festival, prompting more than 4,000 people, including prominent donors, to sign an open letter to university president Liz Magill, saying that "platforming of outright antisemitism without denunciation from the university is unacceptable." In the days after the October 7 attacks in 2023, donors such as Mark Rowan, CEO of Apollo Global Management, called the university's response insufficient, demanded that Magill and Bok step down, and called for other alumni to "close their checkbooks" until their resignations. [9] [10] In 2018, Rowan donated $50 million to the Wharton School, considered the largest donation the school had ever received, and he chaired Wharton's board of advisors. Rowan became a key influential voice encouraging wealthy donors to withhold donations to schools. [3]
After hearing Rowan's criticism of UPenn, investor Steve Eisman asked UPenn to remove his family's name from a scholarship, telling officials that "he does not want my family's name associated with the University of Pennsylvania, ever." Eisman was also frustrated by UPenn's response to Palestine Writes. [3]
On October 15, Jon Huntsman Jr. announced that his family foundation would stop donating to UPenn, writing to Magill that, "Moral relativism has fueled the university’s race to the bottom and sadly now has reached a point where remaining impartial is no longer an option." Huntsman previously served on Upenn's board of trustees. Jon Huntsman Sr. had donated at least $50 million to the Wharton School as of 2014. [10]
Also on October 15, investor and computer scientist David Magerman announced he was withdrawing his grants to the school over the school's handling of the situation. [11]
After Magill's controversial appearance during a U.S. Congressional hearing on antisemitism in December 2023, in which she avoided questions about how students calling for the genocide of Jews would be punished, hedge fund CEO Ross Stevens rescinded a planned $100 million donation to the school. [12]
In April 2024, Robert Kraft announced that he was "not comfortable" supporting Columbia University until actions were taken to end the encampments on campus. Kraft had donated at least $8.5 million to the university since 2000. [6]
That same month, the Russell Berrie Foundation announced it was suspending its giving to Columbia over the university's lack of response to "create a tolerant and secure environment for Jewish members of the Columbia community." The foundation had donated more than $85 million to the university. [5]
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell praised Rowan on the Senate floor, noting that Rowan's call to boycott the school had spread like wildfire, precipitating a crisis that by one account could put a billion-dollar hole in the university's books. [3]
According to Lee Gardner of the Chronicle of Higher Education in October 2023, the financial impact on schools such as Harvard and UPenn would likely be felt in the long-term, on gifts and donations that would come to fruition over years. Smaller private schools and state flagship schools would be impacted if the donor backlash spread from the Ivy League. Sara Harberson, a former associate dean of admissions at UPenn, said that big donors cutting ties could convince smaller donors to end their contributions, hurt alumni relations, and put pressure on the university president or board of trustees. [1]
In November 2023, Harvard gift officers expressed their fear in the Harvard Crimson that long-time donors would stop giving as a result of the controversy over the university's response to the Israel-Hamas war and concerns about antisemitism on campus. [2] Gifts to Harvard dropped 15% during the 2024 fiscal year, the biggest decrease in donations in 8 years. [13]
Columbia University's Gift Day on October 2, 2024, its first since the October 7 attacks, raised 29% less in gifts compared to 2022 and was the first year that total monetary donations had declined since the first Gifting Day in 2012. [4]
The Penn Fund at the University of Pennsylvania raised less money from fewer donors in 2024 than any year since 2020, with donations down 21% compared to the previous year. [14]
Several donors redirected their giving to Israeli universities or Jewish causes. Two months after cutting financial ties with Columbia University, Robert Kraft directed a $1 million donation to Yeshiva University in June 2024 to fund a program for students seeking to transfer to the Jewish university. [15] That month, an anonymous Columbia University graduate donated $260 million to Bar-Ilan University in Israel. [16] David Magerman redirected $5 million intended for UPenn to five Israeli universities in October, including Jerusalem College of Technology, Tel Aviv University, Technion, and Bar-Ilan University, to create degree tracks in English. [11]
Robert Kenneth Kraft is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainment, real estate development, and a private equity portfolio. Since 1994, Kraft has owned the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He also owns the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer (MLS), which he founded in 1996, and the esport-based Boston Uprising, which Kraft founded in 2017. As of July 2024, he has an estimated net worth of US$11.1 billion according to Forbes.
Craig Alexander Newmark is an American internet entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as the founder of the classifieds website Craigslist. Prior to founding Craigslist, he worked as a computer programmer for IBM, Bank of America, and Charles Schwab. Newmark served as chief executive officer of Craigslist from its founding until 2000. He founded Craig Newmark Philanthropies in 2015.
Kenneth Cordele Griffin is an American hedge fund manager, entrepreneur and investor. He is the founder, chief executive officer, co-chief investment officer, and 80% owner of Citadel LLC, a multinational hedge fund. He also owns Citadel Securities, one of the largest market makers in the United States.
Pindaros Roy Vagelos is an American physician and business executive, who was president and chief executive officer (1985) and chairman (1986) of the American pharmaceutical company Merck & Co..
Ronald (Ron) Steven Lauder is an American businessman and political activist. He and his brother, Leonard Lauder, are the sole heirs to the Estée Lauder cosmetics company, founded by their parents, Estée Lauder and Joseph Lauder, in 1946.
Sir Leonard Valentinovich Blavatnik is a Soviet/Ukrainian-born British-American businessman and philanthropist. As of January 2024, Forbes estimated his net worth at $31.3 billion. In 2017, Blavatnik received a knighthood for services to philanthropy.
Antisemitism at universities has been reported and supported since the medieval period and, more recently, resisted and studied. Antisemitism has been manifested in various policies and practices, such as restricting the admission of Jewish students by a Jewish quota, or ostracism, intimidation, or violence against Jewish students, as well as in the hiring, retention and treatment of Jewish faculty and staff. In some instances, universities have been accused of condoning the development of antisemitic cultures on campus.
William Albert Ackman is an American billionaire hedge fund manager who is the founder and chief executive officer of Pershing Square Capital Management, a hedge fund management company. His investment approach has made him an activist investor. As of June 2024, Ackman's net worth was estimated at $9.3 billion by Forbes.
Derek Jonathan Penslar, is an American-Canadian comparative historian with interests in the relationship between modern Israel and diaspora Jewish societies, global nationalist movements, European colonialism, and post-colonial states.
Mary Elizabeth Magill is an American legal scholar and academic administrator. She served as the 9th president of the University of Pennsylvania from 2022 to 2023, executive vice president and provost of the University of Virginia from 2019 to 2022, and dean of Stanford Law School from 2012 to 2019.
Barry Stuart Sternlicht is an American billionaire and the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Starwood Capital Group, an investment fund with over $100 billion in assets under management. He is also chairman of Starwood Property Trust. He is the founder of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide and served as its Chairman and CEO from 1995 to 2005. As of May 2023, his net worth was estimated at $4.6 billion.
Leon G. Cooperman is an American billionaire investor and hedge fund manager. He is the chairman and CEO of Omega Advisors, a New York-based investment advisory firm managing over $3.3 billion in assets under management, the majority consisting of his personal wealth.
Miriam Adelson is an Israeli-American physician, businesswoman, and political donor.
Marc Jeffrey Rowan is an American investor. He co-founded Apollo Global Management in 1990 with Josh Harris and Leon Black and took over as CEO in 2021. As of April 2024, Forbes estimated his wealth at $6.5 billion.
Students for Justice in Palestine is a pro-Palestinian college student activism organization in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. Founded at the University of California in 2001, it has campaigned for boycott and divestment against corporations that deal with Israel and organized events about Israel's human rights violations. In 2011, The New York Times called it "the leading pro-Palestinian voice on campus". As of 2024, National SJP has over 350 chapters in North America.
Claudine Gay is an American political scientist and academic administrator who is the Wilbur A. Cowett Professor of Government and of African and African-American Studies at Harvard University. Gay's research addresses American political behavior, including voter turnout and politics of race and identity.
Hirschy Zarchi is an American rabbi and shaliach for the Chabad Hasidic Jewish movement. Since 1997, he has been the founder and head of the Chabad house at Harvard University, one of the largest Chabad campus operations in the United States. He is also Jewish chaplain for students and alumni of Harvard.
On December 5, 2023, the United States House Committee on Education & the Workforce held a hearing on antisemitism on college campuses. The committee called a few university leaders to testify, including the presidents of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Jews have faced antisemitism and discrimination in universities and campuses in the United States, from the founding of universities in the Thirteen Colonies until the present day in varying intensities. From the early 20th century, and until the 1960s, indirect quotas were placed on Jewish admissions, quotas were first placed on Jews by elite universities such Columbia, Harvard and Yale and were prevalent as late as the 1960s in universities such as Stanford. These quotas disappeared in the 1970s.
Antisemitism at Columbia University was prevalent in the first half of the 20th century and has resurged in recent years. In the early 21st century, discourse surrounding the Israeli–Palestinian conflict would sometimes lead to accusations of antisemitism, but these individual controversies were typically isolated.