Stephen A. Levin, who graduated from UPenn in 1967, angrily told then-University President Liz Magill he would not complete his $15 million dollar pledge to have the Neural and Behavioral Sciences Building bear his name.
A 1967 graduate of the school, Levin has founded and run multiple companies, including a beer distributor that he reportedly sold for $1 billion to Reyes Beverage Group in January 2015. He is also a trustee of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Jewish News Syndicate reported.
The Penn building that previously bore his name—and which still shows up in Google searches with his name—is now the Neural and Behavioral Sciences Building, the university’s arts and sciences school told JNS, per its agreement with Levin.
JNS reports that Levin was also annoyed that UPenn hosted a Palestine Writes Literature Festival, which featured antisemitic speakers.
"He had announced back then, I believe it was October, 2023, that he was not going to give the school pledge. He's appalled at what university has become. He also sent two of his sons to the school. And he said it's not the school that he attended, nor the school that his sons attended,” said Diane Gramley, president of AFA of Pennsylvania.
With the continual pushback the school has gotten, Gramley believes they are starting to get the message.
“At least for the University of Pennsylvania, I think the message has been received and they, at least for right now, have responded or are beginning to respond in a positive way to kind of put a stop to some of these outrageous demonstrations,” Gramley said.
