The president of Cornell University, Michael Kotlikoff, is under fire over the university’s handling of a gang rape at a fraternity party in 2024.
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Faculty members at Cornell University met today to discuss a no-confidence vote in the school’s leadership. The president of Cornell, Michael Kotlikoff, has come under harsh criticism in response to the university’s handling of a former student’s claims that she was gang raped at a frat party in 2024. NPR’s Elissa Nadworny reports.
ELISSA NADWORNY, BYLINE: Michael Kotlikoff is a veterinarian and a biomedical researcher who started working at Cornell 26 years ago. He served as dean of the university’s vet school and then as provost, leading academics for nearly a decade. In the summer of 2024, he was selected by the board of trustees to serve as interim president. He got the permanent job the next year. So that means he was in charge back in October 2024 when Jane Doe went to a fraternity party at the Chi Phi house on Edgemoor Lane.
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MICHAEL KOTLIKOFF: What happened to Jane Doe in 2024 is deeply disturbing and will weigh heavily on our community for years to come.
NADWORNY: That’s from an eight-minute video message the president released following Jane Doe’s civil lawsuit against the university. In the video, Kotlikoff vowed to strengthen investigative processes at the school and acknowledged frustration with the university’s handling of the case.
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KOTLIKOFF: We will make a greater effort to explain what we can, to provide context about the actions Cornell has taken and to be more transparent.
NADWORNY: In his first interview since the lawsuit, he told The New York Times this week that the university has more information now than they did in 2024, including that he didn’t, but should have, known that Jane Doe dropped out of Cornell. Faculty and staff have felt his response, including the latest changes, which include banning fraternity parties for the remainder of the year and hiring criminal investigators to handle reports of sexual assault, just come too little too late.
ANNE MARIE BRADY: The group of faculty members that I am working with are horrified, are, frankly, absolutely horrified.
NADWORNY: Anne Marie Brady is a member of the faculty senate, and she co-signed the resolution for the vote of no confidence. But even she is hesitant to push for Kotlikoff’s ouster.
BRADY: The thing is, if you just remove him, you’re not going to change the system, right? This is a much wider issue, and that’s what needs to be acknowledged and recognized, and that’s the place that we need to start.
NADWORNY: While faculty can voice their dissatisfaction with a no-confidence vote, ultimately, Kotlikoff’s job will be in the hands of the board of trustees. That group, made up of donors and alumni, will meet on campus later this week. Elissa Nadworny, NPR News, Ithaca, New York.
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