Cornell president acknowledges he knew about fraternity sexual assault but didn’t follow up
Michael Kotlikoff addressed his administration’s handling of the 2024 allegations as he faces calls for his resignation
TL;DR
- Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff acknowledged he was aware of a student's sexual assault report in November 2024 but did not follow up.
- He expressed personal sorrow for the student's experience and stated the campus is also sorry.
- Kotlikoff admitted to a loss of trust and anger on campus following the allegations.
- A former student, identified as Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit last month against the university and seven Chi Phi fraternity members.
- The district attorney is reopening the investigation, and the New York governor appointed the state's attorney general as special prosecutor.
- Cornell has suspended fraternity parties for the rest of the academic year and will add sexual assault investigators.
- A special committee of the Board of Trustees has retained Sally Yates to lead an independent review of the university's response to sexual misconduct.