Michael Kotlikoff, president of Cornell University, spoke to the New York Times about sexual assault allegations at the school, acknowledging for the first time that he knew a student had reported being sexually assaulted in November 2024, but did not follow up on Jane Doe being implicated in the months after learning of the alleged assault.
He also revealed that he didn’t know she left Cornell until she filed a lawsuit last month.
Kotlikoff addressed his administration’s handling of the 2024 allegations, as the university faces increasing scrutiny and calls for his resignation.
“The fact that Jane Doe experienced what she experienced at Cornell is something that I am personally sorry for,” Kotlikoff said in the interview, the first since the woman filed a civil suit last month. “And I think the entire campus is sorry for what happened.”
“I have heard enough from the community that there is a loss of trust,” he added. “People are angry. I understand that anger.”
Last month, a former student, identified in court documents as “Jane Doe,” filed a civil suit against several parties, including the university, accusing seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity of sexually assaulting her during a party at their on-campus fraternity house in October 2024. All of the men named in the suit have denied wrongdoing and none have been criminally charged.
The woman reported the incident to the Cornell University Police Department in November 2024. According to information obtained by The New York Times, after an internal investigation at Cornell, two of the men were expelled, two were suspended and another, already a graduate, was barred from campus. The remaining men received lighter sanctions, including orders not to contact Jane Doe and to write “thinking papers.”
At the time, the Tompkins County prosecutor declined to file charges against the men, saying there was not enough evidence.
The district attorney has since said he would reopen his office’s investigation, and Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, said she was appointing Letitia James, the state’s attorney general, as special prosecutor to investigate the allegations.
Kotlikoff called the allegations “deeply troubling” in a statement released earlier this month and said he welcomed Hochul’s decision to appoint James to handle the case.
During the 90-minute interview, she was asked to respond to criticism that her administration failed to respond to the former student’s allegations until she filed a lawsuit.
Kotlikoff pointed to a presidential task force created to investigate sexual assault on campus.
He added: “I think it’s important to understand that we have more information now than we did then. We’ve learned more information about how this process took place.”
Cornell’s Faculty Senate is expected to hold a rare vote of no confidence in the president later this month, according to reports.
In the interview, Kotlikoff also said he did not know the former student had left the school.
“I think there’s an argument for what you said, which is that if in fact a student has withdrawn because she doesn’t feel safe coming out of the university’s administrative review process or there are specific concerns about individuals – you know there have been no contact orders for those individuals – I think that’s something that leadership should be made aware of. I would agree with that.”
On Tuesday, after the interview, Kotlikoff announced that Cornell would suspend fraternity house parties for the remainder of the academic year. The university also said it plans to hire experienced sexual assault investigators to work with its police force in response.
A newly formed special committee of the Cornell University Board of Trustees also announced that it had retained Sally Yates, who served as deputy attorney general in the Obama administration, to “lead an independent and comprehensive review of how the university prevents and responds to sexual harassment, sexual assault, and related misconduct on campus.”
Information and support for anyone affected by issues of rape or sexual abuse is available from the following organisations. In the United States, Rainn offers support at 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available on 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines are available at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
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