Mary Elizabeth Magill, born in 1966, is an American legal scholar and academic administrator. She assumed the position of the ninth president and 27th leader of the University of Pennsylvania in July 2022. Magill is a specialist in administrative and constitutional law. Her academic journey includes serving as a Professor of Law at the University of Virginia, where she also became the dean of Stanford Law School and later the provost of the University of Virginia.
On December 9, 2023, Magill announced her intention to step down as the university president once an interim president is appointed.
Magill, a native of Fargo, North Dakota, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Yale University (1988) and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law (1995). Before entering academia, she worked as a senior legislative assistant for U.S. Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota.
Throughout her career, Magill held notable clerkships, including with Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She joined the faculty of the University of Virginia School of Law in 1997, where she became a distinguished professor and vice dean.
In 2012, Magill assumed the position of dean at Stanford Law School, also holding the title of Richard E. Lang Professor of Law. She was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2016.
Magill returned to the University of Virginia as provost in 2019 before becoming the president of the University of Pennsylvania in July 2022. In response to criticism related to her handling of issues around academic freedom and protests on campus, particularly regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict, and her testimony on anti-Semitism, Magill announced her resignation on December 9, 2023. She will continue to lead the university until a replacement is found.