Cornell president pressed by angry faculty members frustrated by his handling of gang rape case
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.“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 b...