(Bloomberg) -- Scott Bok has spent decades advising corporate titans on how to fend off hostile takeovers. Now he’s in a fight of his own against a growing list of billionaires who are angry over his work at the University of Pennsylvania. 

The chairman of Greenhill & Co. is being forced to defend Penn President Liz Magill and his own position as chair of the board of trustees, while a group of alumni and students demand the exit of both leaders amid a growing storm over antisemitism on campus and Bok’s treatment of some of the school’s Jewish trustees. 

In recent days, Bok and Magill have worked the phones to rally support from the members of the board, attempting to quell opposition from donors led by Apollo Global Management Inc. Chief Executive Officer Marc Rowan. The critics also include Law & Order’s Dick Wolf, Ronald Lauder and Jon Huntsman — some of whom have said they’re withdrawing financial support from the university. 

“Our existing leadership team, with the guidance of our large and diverse trustee group, is best suited to take the university forward,” Bok said in a statement. “Change, particularly if perceived as being forced by the withholding of contributions, would serve to only increase division within the broad university community.”

But just as Bok wins over some supporters, demands are growing for him and Magill to address the controversy more forcefully or step down. 

“It is time for the trustees to begin moving UPenn in a new direction,” one donor told the university. 

“Although we haven’t met, you may know me by Silverman Hall, the Silverman scholars and the Silverman professor,” said another.  

“I respectfully request that you both do the right thing and resign from your positions,” said a young alum. 

Campuses from Harvard University to Stanford University have been bitterly divided by the Israel-Hamas war, but none has been as convulsed as Penn. Founded in 1740 by Benjamin Franklin, the Ivy League school now sits at the center of the seething national debate over academic freedom, free speech and — to many on the political right — left-wing bias in US higher education. 

The uproar, unlike anything the Philadelphia school has faced in recent memory, started weeks before Hamas launched its brutal attack on Israel on Oct. 7. 

Bok and Magill had supported the decision to hold the three-day Palestine Writes Literature Festival at Penn’s Wolf Humanities Center in September, dismissing the concerns of alumni including Apollo’s Rowan about controversial speakers they said had a history of antisemitic rhetoric.

Hamas Attacks 

About 4,400 people signed a petition backed by Rowan, but the furor reached new heights this month after Hamas breached the border in Israel, killed more than 1,400 people and took about 200 into Gaza as hostages. Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union. 

Israel has since pummeled Gaza with airstrikes, fueling protests across the Mideast and in Europe, as well as in US cities and on college campuses. More than 6,500 people have died, according to Hamas’s health officials, while hundreds of thousands have left their homes.   

Magill has issued multiple statements condemning antisemitism and the festival speakers — but for critics, they’re too little and too late. She also now faces blowback from faculty and students for changing her stance after donors threatened to stop giving to the school. 

“It’s very hard to gauge where Penn’s reputation is right now,” said Harun Küçük, the director of the university’s Middle East Center. He said Penn shouldn’t be intimidated by powerful donors. “Universities are not joint stock companies or country clubs. They’re serious institutions with very long histories that serve, hopefully, noble and honorable goals.”

For many current students and alumni of Penn, it’s hard to imagine a more divided community. Pro-Palestine and pro-Israel rallies have grown, with students and community members gathering at Locust Walk and around the LOVE statue on campus. Vandalism and graffiti have also increased, including swastikas and hate speech comparing Jews to Nazis. 

Bok, who has degrees from Wharton and Penn’s law school, is no stranger to high-stakes battles. A trustee since 2005, he’s chaired the board since 2021. During that time, Penn has navigated controversies including over law professor Amy Wax, who made inflammatory statements against minorities, and Penn’s support for transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.

A lawyer by training, Bok worked as an investment banker for Morgan Stanley before joining Greenhill in 1997. He became sole CEO in 2010. Since then, the bank’s market share has shrunk, and he agreed to sell Greenhill to Mizuho Financial Group Inc. this year for $15 a share. He will stay on as CEO. 

Read more: Greenhill’s Bok Seeks to Prove Critics Wrong About M&A Boutique

Bok led the presidential search that selected Magill. A Fargo, North Dakota native, Magill joined in July 2022 and spent a lot of her time initially meeting students and faculty. She started her career as a lawyer and once clerked for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, then moved into higher education with roles as provost of the University of Virginia and dean of Stanford’s law school. Magill declined to comment for this article. 

Despite the fervor inside and outside the school, several board members have said Magill has unanimous support from Penn trustees. Bok — who has taken a harder line with trustees and alumni — does not. The chairman has said some of the current detractors are drawing an unfair connection between the Palestine literature festival and the terrorist attack on Israel. 

“Forced cancellation of the recent event would have broken with decades of university policy,” Bok said in an emailed statement.  

The majority of the trustees share his sentiment and support his continued role at the school, according to Andy Rachleff, who has been a member of Penn’s board for 18 years. 

“We’re not going to be held hostage by a minority of donors,” Rachleff said. “If you want a premiere faculty, you have to support free speech.” 

But some alumni disagree, including donors who’ve contributed to its $20.5 billion endowment, buildings and scholarships. Hedge fund manager Cliff Asness said he’s “100% for free speech but not asymmetrical free speech where some have it and some don’t.” 

“Hiding behind ‘free speech’ when it is a right only embraced for antisemites and other fellow travelers is not ok.”

Other critics accuse Bok of trying to suppress board members and advisers from sharing their views publicly. 

Open Letter

Apollo’s Rowan said Bok called him and suggested he step down from his post as chairman of Wharton’s Board of Advisors after he signed the open letter to the university expressing his concerns about the Palestine Writes festival. 

At least two trustees, who are Jewish, have said Bok asked them to resign for signing the same letter, with one told not to come to the upcoming board meeting in November, according to people familiar with the discussions. In a text message to one of the trustees, Bok wrote: “Your role is untenable.” 

“Bok has made some fatal governance missteps,” said Rowan, who along with his wife Carolyn, donated $50 million to Wharton. Rowan said he told Bok he should step down over breakfast two weeks ago and Bok said the two would have to agree to disagree. “Penn is not a place of free speech,” said Rowan. “It’s a place of favored speech. There’s a double standard.” 

In response to whether he pressed for resignations, Bok said, “It is extraordinarily unusual in a corporate, university or nonprofit context for a board member to publicly oppose” a decision made by the leadership team. 

“We did make known to two Trustees pursuing that unusual step that they could consider voluntarily resigning, thereby freeing them from all the constraints involved in serving on a board,” he said. “Those individuals chose not to resign, and they remain welcome as members of Penn’s board.”

Since neither Magill nor Bok have plans to step down, the trustees will ultimately decide what happens next. Rachleff said calls to replace Bok haven’t gained enough momentum and are unlikely to come up during Penn’s board meeting next week. Trustees including Harlan Stone and Marc McMorris have expressed support for the current leadership team. 

“In a 60-person board you’re going to find some people who want someone to resign over this,” Rachleff said. “But it’s a small minority. To have a productive board it’s important you only have people who lead, follow, or get out of the way.” 

For some alumni, the most recent events on campus are the last straw. They allege a pattern of antisemitism and don’t see how the university comes out without a significant change in leadership. 

“I love the university and I owe so much to Penn, but I can’t abide what’s going on,” said Emilio Bassini, a Penn alum and donor. “We need a new beginning and new leadership.”

--With assistance from Ella Ceron.

(Updates with Asness quote in 25th paragraph. An earlier version corrected his comments.)

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.