Billionaire Bill Ackman has slammed the chairman of MIT’s board over his wife’s non-profit, pointing out it has received nearly $2million from the prestigious university.
The investor, who has led a campaign to oust the presidents of Harvard, MIT and UPenn over their stand on campus anti-Semitism, shined a light on Parity.org, founded by Mark Gorenberg’s wife Cathrin Stickney.
Ackman noted that the nonprofit, which aims to even the playing field for women and people of color in business, has only had two donors – one being MIT.
‘Imagine the following: You’re a man who serves as Chairman of the Board of a large University who led the search for the recently hired president,’ Ackman wrote on X on Thursday.
‘Your wife runs a non-profit in the DEI space. She is the only full-time employee of the organization, serving as Founder, CEO, and CFO. You serve as Treasurer.
Billionaire Bill Ackman has slammed the chairman of MIT’s board over his wife’s non-profit
MIT chairman Mark Gorenberg’s wife Cathrin Stickney founded Parity.org, which has received nearly $2million from MIT
Parity.org provides ‘ParityPledges’ to companies looking to fit diversity, equity and inclusion guidelines. They also offer a ‘ParityMODEL’ for women and people of color
‘The non-profit ostensibly sells two principal products in the DEI space: 1. “Evidence-based ‘how-to-guides’ and 2. “The most comprehensive intersectional analytics platform of its kind…”‘
Ackman continued: ‘but the non-profit has no revenues. It relies entirely on contributions to fund its operations.
The billionaire goes on to cite how much MIT gave the non-profit since 2018 – $1,939,000.
He added: ‘Doesn’t this seem very strange? Why are there so many conflicts/scandals concerning DEI organizations?’
Gorenberg, the founder and managing director of Zetta Venture Partners, became chairman of the MIT Corporation in July, after being on the board since 2001.
Aside from founder, CEO and CFO Stickney, Parity.org lists Aetion CEO Carolyn Magill as secretary, Gorenberg as treasurer, and Patrick Joseph Kennedy’s wife Amy Kennedy as director.
The Jewish Communal Fund is the only other donor listed on the company’s records.
Parity.org provides ‘ParityPledges’ to companies looking to fit diversity, equity and inclusion guidelines. They also offer a ‘ParityMODEL’ for women and people of color.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Parity,org for comment on this story.
Ackman’s post highlighting the non-profit’s relationship with MIT come after Harvard announced that president Claudine Gay would keep her position despite accusations of anti-Semitism and plagiarism.
UPenn’s Liz Magill has been the only president who lost her job over their congressional testimony.
Ackman’s post comes after he denied on Wednesday having a grudge against his alma matter Harvard.
The 57-year-old responded to an article by The New York Times titled, ‘Bill Ackman’s Campaign Against Harvard Followed Years of Resentment’, calling the premise misleding.
Ackman’s post comes after he denied on Wednesday having a grudge against his alma matter Harvard. He has been demanding the ousting of president Claudine Gay, seen above
Testimony from MIT president Sally Kornbluth was also widely criticized
The Times’ article on Ackman came hours after The Harvard Corporation announced that Gay would keep her job despite calls for her ousting.
Ackman claimed sources told him the school did not want to be seen as bowing down to him after he wrote an open letter to the board demanding Gay’s firing.
The Harvard Corporation – the college’s executive board – said in its statement: ‘Our extensive deliberations affirm our confidence that President Gay is the right leader to help our community heal and to address the very serious societal issues we are facing.’
The board acknowledged Gay’s mistakes in handling anti-Semitism on campus, adding: ‘So many people have suffered tremendous damage and pain because of Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack, and the University’s initial statement should have been an immediate, direct, and unequivocal condemnation.
‘Calls for genocide are despicable and contrary to fundamental human values. President Gay has apologized for how she handled her congressional testimony and has committed to redoubling the University’s fight against antisemitism.’