Notable Harvard graduate and hedge fund tycoon Bill Ackman has openly called on MIT to fire president Sally Kornbluth amid antisemitism concerns on campus. The outspoken critic of Ivy League administrations, Ackman, reached out to the board of directors at MIT through social media.
Ackman hinted in his article that he would refrain from writing a letter if the board did not immediately fire President [Sally] Kornbluth, suggesting that he was prepared to step up his criticism if the board did not comply with his request.
The fact that Ackman’s wife, Neri Oxman, was a professor of art and architecture at MIT and was born in Israel further emphasizes their link to the institution. Oxman, who is currently based in Manhattan and works as a designer, has a history of sharing material that is pro-Israel and tales of brutality against Israeli women by Hamas militants. Ackman and Oxman have been contacted by The Post for their remarks regarding the matter.
The uproar began last week at a congressional hearing where Kornbluth and other presidents of Ivy League universities were interrogated on the increase in antisemitic events on college campuses. At one point during the session, Representative Elise Stefanik asked whether MIT employees were harassed if they called for the extermination of Jews. Similar to other university presidents’ responses, Kornbluth’s centered on targeted harassment rather than demands for genocide, which led to extensive condemnation.
Kornbluth was not the only target of Ackman’s criticism. In addition to Penn’s Liz Magill, who resigned after the hearing in response to donor pressure, he demanded that the other Ivy League presidents step down as well.
Despite the turmoil at other universities, the MIT board issued a statement endorsing Kornbluth, praising her leadership and her dedication to combating racism and Islamophobia.
In a similar vein, the faculty of Harvard University rallied around President Claudine Gay when she faced similar obstacles. But her future is still up in the air; the governing board of Harvard is meeting to make a decision. In his outspoken criticism of Gay, Ackman has linked her nomination to Harvard’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion project and said that Gay’s leadership has done considerable harm to the university’s reputation.
Gay recently apologized for her statement before Congress, emphasized the power of words, and promised to confront any demands for Jewish extermination at Harvard University in an interview.
This is happening while Ackman keeps on pressuring Harvard, this time over its hiring procedures and the idea that private enterprises should avoid associating with students who hold Israel responsible for the terrorist attacks in Gaza. It is yet too early to tell if MIT and Harvard will respond to these concerns.