Michael I. Kotlikoff

First Draft Of A Personal Apology From Cornell President Michael I. Kotlikoff?

To the Cornell community, concerned parents, and the growing number of journalists making my professional life considerably less enjoyable: I offer my sincerest apology.

Not because I learned in November 2024 that a student had reported being gang-raped at a fraternity party. Not because I failed to follow up, inquire whether anyone was punished, or even discover she'd left Cornell until she filed a lawsuit. No. I'm apologizing because everyone found out.

For nearly two years, we handled this matter with the dignity, discretion, and institutional indifference that have made American higher education the envy of expensive private clubs everywhere.

Then came the journalists. TheCornell7.org. The headlines. Parents demanding to know whether their daughters would be safe at Cornell, as though that were more important than whether they'd attend Cornell. Suddenly, the consequences became devastating. People were questioning my leadership. Immediate action was necessary.

I have banned fraternity parties for the remainder of the academic year! Some consider this insufficient. But when a building collapses on hundreds of people, surely the owner's first responsibility is to cancel the annual Christmas party.

You cannot rebuild a collapsed institution overnight. But you can confiscate its beer pong tables. Critics compare this to putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. Ridiculous. It's more like discovering your hospital has been amputating the wrong limbs for two years and responding by removing the vending machines from the surgical wing. Decisive. Visible. And entirely achievable without determining who's responsible.

I've also established a presidential task force, because nothing demonstrates urgency quite like forming a committee to investigate the urgency of something you learned about nearly two years ago. I understand you've lost confidence in my leadership. I hear your anger and promise to keep listening until you stop expressing it.

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Some have called for my resignation. I respectfully decline. Nobody is more qualified to lead Cornell through a crisis of institutional accountability than the man whose leadership is being called into question.

Besides, resigning would establish a dangerous precedent: that university presidents might actually face consequences for failing young women. Let me be clear. Women's safety is something I take extremely seriously whenever it threatens admissions, alumni donations, or my continued employment.

 

A university's reputation takes generations to build. A young woman's future can be destroyed in a single night. I trust you understand which represents the greater financial investment.

In closing, I assure every parent that your daughter's safety remains our highest priority. Second only, of course, to our reputation. While I cannot promise your daughter will be safe at Cornell, I can promise to protect the man responsible for protecting her.

Sincerely,

Michael Kotlikoff
President, Cornell University