Baala Shakya, Staff Photographer

Liz Magill ’88, the former University of Pennsylvania president who resigned after widely criticized congressional testimony about campus turmoil over the Israel-Hamas war, is now a fellow of Branford College.

Magill’s appointment to the volunteer role is labeled April 8 in a Council of the Heads of College database, and she is listed on the Branford website’s list of fellows. She joins over 300 Branford fellows, including her Branford classmate and Yale trustee David Sze ’88.

The move marks a return to Yale for Magill, who earned a degree in history from Yale College. During her undergraduate years, Magill served as chair of the Yale College Council and led the Yale College Democrats, according to her CV.

“We met at a recent University event, and knowing she is a Branford alumna, I offered her the opportunity to reconnect with Branford and its community,” Branford Head of College Enrique De La Cruz wrote to the News on Friday. “Her deep connection to Branford and Yale, along with her commitment to serve as a resource for students, undoubtedly inspired her to accept my invitation.”

The News could not reach Magill for comment.

A scholar in administrative and constitutional law, Magill remains a professor at the Penn Carey Law School and sits on the board of trustees of the National Constitution Center. Before her presidency at Penn, she held other high-ranking academic posts, including dean of Stanford Law School and provost at the University of Virginia.

Magill’s time as Penn’s ninth president — a position that began in 1930 — ended in controversy. Magill resigned on Dec. 9, 2023, just four days after a widely scrutinized congressional hearing about universities’ handling of antisemitism amid the war in Gaza.

At the hearing, Magill, when pressed by New York Rep. Elise Stefanik on whether “calling for the genocide of Jews” would violate Penn’s code of conduct, responded that the decision would be “context-dependent.” The remark drew widespread criticism from donors, politicians and members of the public. Magill had already faced backlash for permitting the Palestine Writes Literature Festival, which critics claimed featured antisemitic speakers, to proceed in September 2023.

Magill was the first of three Ivy League university presidents to step down amid widespread outcry over alleged antisemitism in pro-Palestinian activism on college campuses following the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza.

De La Cruz did not directly address Magill’s resignation in his statement to the News about her appointment as a Branford fellow. He instead emphasized her academic and administrative experience.

“Liz’s expertise in higher education and law is valuable to the Branford and Yale communities in any political climate, including the current one,” De La Cruz wrote.

Magill served as a visiting senior fellow at Harvard Law School in the fall of 2024 and is serving as a visiting professor at the London School of Economics through 2027.

According to De La Cruz, Magill will serve as an associate fellow. Each residential college is allowed up to five new appointments annually for associate fellows, he said, and they serve for renewable four-year terms. Unlike other residential college fellows, who are already employed by Yale or involved in a University-sponsored project, associate fellows often include alumni, public figures or community leaders unaffiliated with the University as employees.

Each residential college at Yale has its own approach to involving fellows in the college. De La Cruz said that Branford fellows “enhance the college’s cultural and social life through active participation in events and inspire students to strive for excellence by serving as accomplished professional role models.”

While the extent of Magill’s future involvement with Branford students remains unclear, De La Cruz said that Magill intends to work closely with students and faculty members alike.

“Branford Fellows are an essential part of Branford College,” Kawthar Al Janabi ’26, former Branford College Council co-president, wrote to the News. “I think having a former university president is definitely an asset to the college with all of her expertise and prior knowledge.”

As of May 16, no public events or speaking engagements with Magill at Yale have been announced.

Magill served as the vice dean of the University of Virginia School of Law from 2009 to 2012, overlapping with Yale University President Maurie McInnis, who served as an associate dean of the University of Virginia from 2010 to 2012.