Deepening of the Criticism of UofPenn and the Pushback - Apollo's Marc Rowan Gets Personal PR Guidance from Gladstone Place Partners Head Steve Lipin

 "Gladstone Place Partners chief Steve Lipin personally handles PR for Marc Rowan, CEO of Apollo Management Group private equity firm, in his campaign to mold the direction of the University of Pennsylvania." - Kevin McCauley, O'Dwyer's Public Relations, January 30, 2024

This is a story of a widening questioning of what UofPenn and more generally higher education is all about. That reaches into everything from the purpose of the university to the ROI on its degrees. During the past several years The Wall Street Journal, for example, has been investigating the latter and documenting disappointing ROIs, especially on graduate and professional degrees. 

This version at UofPenn kicked off with Rowan's concern that the university didn't come down strongly enough on antisemitism post-Hamas attack on Israel. Eventually UofPenn's president Elizabeth Magill stepped down. 

However, Rowan didn't approach this as a stand-alone subject. On December 12th, he emailed a four-page email to the trustees titled "Moving Forward." The Philadelphia Inquirer covered that. Rowan contended that the antisemitism was a sign of a larger problem in the culture that should be focused on scholarship, research and academic excellence. Among his recommendations were that certain academic departments be eliminated and there be a review of the general procedures for the admission of faculty. He also requested a definition of "free speech."

In response, the faculty has been delivering pushback. They fear the loss of free speech and academic freedom and question the influence of money on the university. Yesterday, The New York Times reported on the growing tensions at UofPenn. The article started with:

"Professors at the University of Pennsylvania have begun to organize, fearing what they view as a plan by the billionaire Marc Rowan to upend academic freedom."

So, Rowan does have a media crisis on his hands. Therefore, Lipin steps in on an individualized basis. Goldstone had been representing Apollo in overall PR matters. 

This conflict between deep-pocketed influential third parties (with Congress also looping in) and members of a university can reset the whole institution of non-profit higher education in America. That dates back to 1636 when the Puritans established Harvard to train clergy. 

Meanwhile the blind faith in college as the platform for upward mobility, which has dominated since the GI Bill, has been shaken. Professional anonymous networks such as Fishbowl and Reddit are jam-packed with laments about undergraduate and graduate/professional degrees not having a payoff in getting, holding, and moving on to better jobs.

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