ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff faced angry school faculty members Wednesday in a meeting that underscored deep frustration with how his administration handled a woman’s report that she was gang raped at a fraternity house in 2024.
Kotlikoff acknowledged some missteps, but also defended his leadership by answering questions from the university’s Faculty Senate before debating a censorship resolution in his administration.
The meeting was closed to the media, but in an audio recording obtained by the Associated Press, Kotlikoff asked for more time to implement reforms and promote cultural changes in student social life.
He insisted that experienced leadership was needed to confront problems “that are not simplistic, they are not easy, they cannot be dismissed with the wave of a hand.”
Replacing a president is not the right way to address the situation and would harm Cornell’s reputation, Kotlikoff said.
Kotlikoff also left open the possibility of sweeping restrictions on Greek life, saying Cornell needs to determine whether fraternities can operate safely. On Tuesday, Kotlikoff announced a ban on fraternity parties until the end of the academic year.
“If, ultimately, fraternities cannot exist in a safe environment and we cannot be confident that they can be safe, then we should make that decision,” he said, adding that the university should rely on research and evidence rather than emotion.
After Kotlikoff’s departure, a series of faculty speakers said they had lost confidence in the administration’s ability to combat sexual assault on campus.
“The professors were extremely angry. They gave him a hard time, I think it was appropriate,” said Richard Bensel, a government professor.
Some members of the University Senate warned that a rushed no-confidence vote would do little to resolve the underlying problems.
The debate was scheduled to continue on October 28, followed by an electronic vote.
A vote of no confidence by the faculty would be largely symbolic, but could send a message to university administrators, who ultimately decide how the university is run and who runs it.
Accuser’s trial shook campus
A woman identified in court documents under the pseudonym Jane Doe filed a lawsuit last month alleging that seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity sexually assaulted or exploited her in October 2024 and that Cornell mishandled her complaints.
All of these men have denied her allegations, claiming either that their interactions were consensual or that they were not involved.
The criminal investigation by the Cornell Police Department stalled after the local prosecutor quickly ruled that no crime had occurred.
At the time, Kotlikoff publicly addressed what he called “deeply disturbing” allegations, suspended the fraternity and said criminal and academic investigations were underway. He then convened a presidential task force to examine Cornell’s handling of sexual assault.
But in an interview with The New York Times published Tuesday, Kotlikoff said he never followed up on what happened to the woman or the criminal investigation.
When asked by a faculty member if he had read the Cornell Police Department report on the rape allegations, Kotlikoff acknowledged he had not, but said that was because the police investigation was confidential and university policy was that senior administrators should not play a role in criminal investigations.
“I really reject the idea that I wasn’t interested or worried about this,” Kotlikoff said.
Kotlikoff denied being unaware that students had been expelled or suspended as a result of the university’s decision. Title IX investigationbut acknowledged that until recently he did not know the woman had abandoned Cornell.
Teachers describe “contentious” meeting
“The institution is divided in significant ways,” said Grant Farred, professor of Africana studies and English, describing those in the humanities as feeling they had enough information to proceed, while those in the sciences wanted more data.
Iris Packman, a research and policy expert at Cornell’s Climate Jobs Institute, said she felt Kotlikoff had become “defensive.”
Labor history professor Paul Ortiz, the chief sponsor of the censure resolution, said the debate was driven by the perception that the administration was not doing enough to address “a perpetual crisis.”
Anne Marie Brady, senior extension associate at Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, said she welcomed Kotlikoff’s recent announcement that state police, rather than campus police, would temporarily handle sexual assault investigations, but she questioned the timeline, a day before the Senate debate.
A professor who reported harassment says it almost cost her her career
Ariana Kim, an associate professor of music at Cornell, said Kotlikoff’s acknowledgment that he had not pursued the woman’s case was “appalling.”
A Grammy-nominated violinist, Kim told The Associated Press that when she started at Cornell a decade ago, she faced bullying and sexual harassment from senior colleagues. Cornell, she said, failed to properly document her complaints and never clearly informed her what disciplinary action, if any, had been taken.
“I was asked what I did to cause this situation,” she said.
Kim said her efforts to avoid colleagues who later harassed her became a subject of criticism during the review of her tenure. In one case, a professor cited her refusal to accept his advice and her avoidance of him when he voted against granting her the position.
Kotlikoff became interim president of the university in July 2024 and took the position permanently last year.
He has faced challenges including a strike by restaurant and maintenance workers, anger over his decision last year to pay $60 million to settle the Trump administration’s civil rights investigations, and accusations from activists that his administration suppressed campus protests.
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Willingham reported from Boston.
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