Cornell president faces angry faculty over school’s handling of sexual-assault allegations

Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff faced angry members of the school’s faculty Wednesday at a meeting that underscored deep frustration over his administration’s handling of a woman’s report that she was gang raped at a fraternity house in 2024.

Kotlikoff acknowledged some missteps, but also defended his leadership as he took questions from the university’s Faculty Senate before it debated a no-confidence 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 push for cultural changes in student social life.

He insisted experienced leadership was necessary to confront problems “that are not simplistic, they’re not easy, they can’t be brushed aside with a wave of a hand.”

Replacing a president isn’t 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 needed to determine whether fraternities could operate safely. On Tuesday, Kotlikoff announced a ban on fraternity parties through the end of the academic year.

Cornell suspends fraternity parties as sexual assault investigation continues

“If, at the end of the day, fraternities cannot exist in a safe environment and we can’t be convinced 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 departed, a string of faculty speakers said they had lost confidence in the administration’s ability to combat sexual assault on campus.

“The faculty were extremely angry. They gave him a hard time, I think appropriately so,” said Richard Bensel, a professor of government.

Some Faculty Senate members warned that a hasty no-confidence vote would do little to address the underlying problems.

Debate was expected to continue Oct. 28, followed by electronic voting.

A no-confidence vote by the faculty would be largely symbolic, but could send a message to the university’s trustees, who ultimately decide how the university is run and who leads it.

Accuser’s lawsuit has roiled campus

A woman identified in court documents by the pseudonym Jane Doe filed a lawsuit last month alleging that seven Chi Phi fraternity members sexually assaulted or exploited her in October, 2024 and that Cornell mishandled her complaints.

All of those men have denied her allegations, saying either that their interactions were consensual or that they weren’t involved.

The criminal investigation by Cornell’s police department stalled after the local district attorney quickly decided that no crime had occurred.

At the time, Kotlikoff publicly addressed what he called “deeply disturbing” allegations, suspended the fraternity and said criminal and university investigations were under way. He subsequently convened a presidential task force to examine how Cornell handles sexual assault.

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But in an interview with The New York Times published Tuesday, Kotlikoff said he never followed up to learn what had happened to the woman or the criminal investigation.

Asked by a faculty member whether he read the Cornell Police Department’s report on the rape allegations, Kotlikoff acknowledged that he had not, but said that was because the police investigation was confidential and university policy is that top administrators shouldn’t have a role in criminal investigations.

“I really reject the idea that I had no interest in it or was not concerned about it,” Kotlikoff said.

Kotlikoff denied that he wasn’t aware that students had been expelled or suspended as a result of the university’s Title IX investigation, but acknowledged that, until recently, he didn’t know the woman had dropped out of Cornell.

Faculty describe ‘contentious’ meeting

“The institution is split 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 got “defensive.”

Labour history professor Paul Ortiz, lead sponsor of the no-confidence resolution, said the debate was animated by the perception that the administration wasn’t doing enough to address “a perpetual ongoing crisis.”

Anne Marie Brady, a 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, will temporarily handle investigations of sexual assaults, but she questioned the timing, a day before the Senate debate.

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Professor who reported harassment says it nearly cost her career

For Ariana Kim, an associate music professor at Cornell, Kotlikoff’s acknowledgment that he had not followed up on the woman’s case was “appalling.”

A Grammy-nominated violinist, Kim told The Associated Press that when she first started at Cornell a decade ago, she experienced bullying and sexual harassment by senior colleagues. Cornell, she said, failed to properly document her complaints and never clearly informed her of what disciplinary action, if any, had been taken.

“I was asked what I had done to provoke the situation,” she said.

Kim said her efforts to avoid colleagues who had harassed her later became a point of criticism during her tenure review. In one instance, a professor cited her unwillingness to accept his advice and her avoidance of him when he voted against granting her tenure.

Kotlikoff became the university’s interim president in July 2024 and took the job permanently last year.

He’s faced challenges including a dining and custodial workers strike, ire over his decision last year to pay US$60million to settle Trump administration civil rights investigations, and accusations from activists that his administration stifled campus protests.