Ivy League murder suspect's alma mater UPenn silent on CEO assassination after professor's celebratory post

The University of Pennsylvania, where suspected gunman Luigi Mangione earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees, has refused to comment publicly on its alumā€™s arrest in the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. 

When asked multiple times for comment via email and phone, a UPenn spokesperson would only share that Mangione graduated on May 18, 2020 with bachelors and masterā€™s degrees and minored in mathematics. He earned degrees in engineering and was part of the Eta Kappa Nu Honor Society for Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Cornell Law Professor William Jacobson, president of the Legal Insurrection Foundation and of EqualProtect.org, told Fox News Digital that the school could be withholding comment because it is ā€œafraid of the studentsā€ at the liberal institution, considering that ā€œ[its] campus has been a hotbed for anti-American, anti-Israeli, antisemitic outbursts and protests.ā€

A UPenn spokesperson said that Alekseyeva had ā€œretractedā€ her comments after realizing they were ā€œinsensitive and inappropriate.ā€

ā€œMuch concern was raised by recent social media posts attributed to Assistant Professor Julia Alekseyeva,ā€ the spokesperson wrote. ā€œHer comments regarding the shooting of Brian Thompson in New York City were antithetical to the values of both the School of Arts and Sciences and the University of Pennsylvania, and they were not condoned by the School or the University.ā€

UPenn campus in Philadelphia

The University of Pennsylvania campus is seen in Philadelphia. (Jumping Rocks/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

However, the school did not name Mangione or condemn Thompsonā€™s assassination. 

ā€œIt seems odd that they canā€™t offer generic condolences about his death without commenting on the guilt or innocence of their alum,ā€ Jacobson said.

In contrast, the headmaster of the small private academy where Mangione attended high school issued a statement the same day that the former valedictorian was arrested. 

Luigi Mangione

Luigi Mangione was taken into custody in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday morning in connection with the ambush murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City. (Luigi Mangione/Facebook)

ā€œWe recently became aware that the person arrested in connection with the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO is a Gilman alumnus, Luigi Mangione, Class of 2016,ā€ Henry P. A. Smyth, headmaster of the Gilman School in Baltimore, said. ā€œWe do not have any information other than what is being reported in the newsā€¦ This is deeply distressing news on top of an already awful situation. Our hearts go out to everyone affected.ā€

A general view of the Gilman School in Baltimore, Maryland

A general view of the Gilman School in Baltimore on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. Luigi Mangione, who was arrested in Pennsylvania for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, graduated from the school in 2016. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

The Ivy League universityā€™s silence on the national news involving its graduate comes a year after former Penn President Liz Magill declined to outright state that calls for the genocide of Jewish people constitute bullying or harassment under Pennā€™s code of conduct during a congressional hearing. 

Liz Magill

University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill listens during a hearing of the House Committee on Education on Capitol Hill on Dec. 5, 2023, in Washington. Magill resigned amid pressure from donors and criticism over testimony at a congressional hearing where she was unable to say under repeated questioning that calls on campus for the genocide of Jews would violate the schoolā€™s conduct policy. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

Magill resigned four days after the hearing, on Dec. 11 of last year, ahead of a Board of Trustees meeting on whether she could continue to effectively fundraise and lead the university after the backlash against her handling of antisemitism at the school.

ā€œI donā€™t know if [refusing to comment is] the lesson theyā€™ve learned, but I do know that schools and companies in general, their standard PR pattern is to not comment on things ā€“ it may be in completely good faith, what theyā€™re saying,ā€ Jacobson said. ā€œOr it might be something else.ā€

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