Ties surrounding a top Carnegie Mellon University administrator are drawing scrutiny as an anti-Semitism lawsuit moves forward. The connections involve Elizabeth Rosemeyer, the university’s assistant vice provost of DEI and Title IX coordinator, who previously worked for a Palestinian NGO later sanctioned by the U.S. State Department.
Before joining Carnegie Mellon in 2018, Rosemeyer served as an “international liaison” for the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights while based in Gaza from 1996 to 1997. According to her LinkedIn profile, she handled grant proposals and communications. The State Department sanctioned the group in September for working with the International Criminal Court “to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent.”
Rosemeyer now sits at the center of a lawsuit filed by former student Yael Canaan, who alleges Carnegie Mellon fostered a hostile environment for Jewish students. Canaan claims a professor suggested she explore “what Jews do to make themselves such a hated group” and says Rosemeyer “aggressively discouraged Canaan from filing a formal complaint.”
The case revealed that Qatar “partially” funds Rosemeyer’s position. “Notably, CMU concedes that Qatari interests partially fund the position of Elizabeth Rosemeyer,” U.S. District Judge W. Scott Hardy wrote. Hardy added that “Qatar and its affiliates could be a source of antisemitic influence upon CMU,” citing the “largesse of Qatari funds supplied to CMU.”
During Rosemeyer’s tenure, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights issued statements backing Hamas-linked narratives, including describing the Oct. 7 massacre as “an operation in response to escalating Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.”
Carnegie Mellon denies wrongdoing, and Rosemeyer has not been accused of criminal activity. Still, the ties raise questions about foreign influence, campus culture, and oversight as the lawsuit proceeds.
