THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA • FOUNDED 1885
PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2023
VOL. CXXXIX
NO. 2
Penn denies allegations of foreign influence at Biden Center
A House committee chair requested information from President Liz Magill about the Center, University donations MOLLY COHEN Senior Reporter
The United States House Oversight and Accountability Committee sent a letter to Penn President Liz Magill inquiring about foreign donations and visitors to the Penn Biden Center after the discovery of classified documents at the Washington think tank. The letter — signed by committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) — requests that Magill provide documents and lists pertaining to donations from China to the University and the Penn Biden Center since 2017, as well as information about people who worked at the Center. The letter also requests information about people who visited President Joe Biden at the Center. In an emailed statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian, a University spokesperson wrote that Penn has received the letter and plans to respond "in a timely matter." The letter claims that Penn has received "millions of dollars from anonymous Chinese sources" and that
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these donations tripled following the announcement of the formation of the Penn Biden Center in 2017. “The American people deserve to know whether the Chinese Communist Party, through Chinese companies, influenced potential Biden Administration policies with large, anonymous donations to UPenn and the Penn Biden Center,” the letter said. The University spokesperson wrote to the DP that "It is important to reiterate that the Penn Biden Center has never solicited or received any gifts from any Chinese or other foreign entity." "The University has never solicited any gifts for the Center. Since its inception in 2017 there have been three unsolicited gifts, from two donors, which combined [to a total of] $1,100. Both donors are Americans. One hundred percent of the budget for the Penn Biden Center comes from university funds," the spokesperson wrote. "Any foreign gifts received by the university are all properly reported to the U.S. Department of Education as required by Section 117 of the Higher Education Act. Penn is fully compliant with federal law regarding the reporting of foreign gifts and contracts." The Penn Biden Center and the White House did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
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McDonald’s near campus closes HALEY SON Staff Reporter
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McDonald’s longtime location at 40th and Walnut streets closed on Jan. 16, paving the way for its redevelopment into a mixed-used office building operated by Penn. Construction of the redeveloped property, which will cost around $35 million, is expected to begin early this year and conclude by fall 2024. The new building will include a modernized McDonald’s on the ground floor and will house administrative offices for the University, according to a press release from Penn's Facilities and Real Estate Services. “We are thrilled to work with McDonald’s in the
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Research spending is at an all-time high. Which departments get the most money? The DP conducted an analysis of the University’s research spending based on data from the National Science Foundation KIRA WANG Senior Reporter See RESEARCH, page 6
of dollars in undisclosed funds from China prior to and after the formation of the Penn Biden Center. The letter requested information about donations to the University from the Chinese government or any businesses located primarily in China since 2013. Then-Vice President of University Communications Stephen MacCarthy denied the validity of the allegations in the letter. During former Penn President Amy Gutmann’s Senate confirmation hearings for the ambassadorship to Germany in December 2021, she was asked about donations to the University from China. “The University of Pennsylvania has stood strong against accepting any gifts that would threaten academic freedom or threaten national security,” Gutmann said during her testimony. The Department of Justice is currently reviewing classified documents that were found at Penn Biden Center on Nov. 2 and first reported on Jan. 9. An additional six documents were discovered in Biden’s Delaware home in December and publicized on Jan. 12. The Penn Biden Center opened in 2018, and Biden used the space as his primary office in Washington prior to his presidential campaign.
The closure paves the way for McDonald’s redevelopment into a mixedused office building operated by Penn
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The letter from the GOP-led committee goes on to express concern over who had access to the recently discovered documents belonging to Biden, specifically “given the Biden family’s financial connections to foreign actors and companies,” according to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee's press release. “President Biden’s pattern of mishandling classified documents is alarming,” the letter said. “The Committee is concerned about who had access to these documents given the Biden family’s financial connections to foreign actors and companies.” The letter also requests a list of all Center employees, a list of all individuals with keycard access to the Center, and a visitor log of everyone who met with Biden at the Center. In the emailed statement, the University spokesperson wrote that the "Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement was founded on the principle that a democratic, open, secure, tolerant, and interconnected world benefits all Americans." In January 2021, a letter from three House Republicans, including Comer, to then-Penn President Amy Gutmann alleged that the University received millions
repositioning of this pivotal intersection, while ensuring the restaurant reopens and remains a fixture within the surrounding community,” Penn’s Executive Director of Real Estate Ed Datz said in a press release. A sign on the door of the McDonald's states that it is "CLOSED FOR REBUILD" and suggests that customers visit a nearby location at 133 S. 69th St. in Upper Darby, Pa. In September 2022, Penn announced it would close the McDonald’s location in January to pave the way for See CLOSED, page 2
PAACH hires two associate directors These hires come months after longtime PAACH Director Peter Van Do left Penn in the fall DEDEEPYA GUTHIKONDA Senior Reporter
Following a three-year vacancy, the Pan-Asian American Community House has hired two new associate directors to fill the vacant roles. The associate directors — Vicky Aquino and Daniel Hoddinott — will be responsible for “leading and developing initiatives that support student engagement and development, advising student
organizations, working with undergraduate and graduate students, and driving the mission of PAACH forward,” according to Associate Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging Will Atkins. Aquino started in her position on Jan. See PAACH, page 6
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