Two top teachers union presidents call on administrators to demand Cornell president’s resignation
Randi Weingarten ’80, president of the American Federation of Teachers, and Melinda Person ’98 MS ’05, president of New York State United Teachers, called on Cornell’s Board of Trustees to demand the resignation of President Michael Kotlikoff in a letter posted Tuesday on Instagram.
They cited the University’s handling of the alleged 2024 gang rape at the Chi Phi fraternity house as reason for appealing to administrators. They also criticized Kotlikoff for not following up on Jane Doe, the plaintiff in a September lawsuit alleging assault, after initially hearing about the allegations in 2024.
Union presidents called Kotlikoff’s lack of follow-through a “failure of leadership.”
“Leadership requires more than carefully worded statements,” the letter reads. “It requires action, accountability and a willingness to stand with the people who make an institution what it is. »
Weingarten and Person also referenced a letter Jane Doe sent to the Faculty Senate on Oct. 14, in which she described feeling “unsupported and in disbelief” by Kotlikoff after hearing about a conversation she said took place between Kotlikoff and the president of the Tri Delta sorority at the time of the alleged assault.
Jane Doe wrote that Kotlikoff asked the former sorority president, “Why did she wait so long to report it?” » She added that the former sorority president felt Kotlikoff doubted his story.
Cornell has since disputed Jane Doe’s claim that Kotlikoff questioned her reporting.
The union presidents wrote that Kotlikoff’s reaction described in Jane Doe’s letter raised questions about his judgment and response that “cannot be dismissed.”
Weingarten and Person are both Cornell alumni and heads of two of America’s largest unions.
The AFT represents K-12 teachers and staff, healthcare professionals and higher education teachers and staff, with 1.875 million members, according to its website. NYSUT, an AFT affiliate, has nearly 700,000 members and also covers K-12 faculty and staff, healthcare professionals, and higher education faculty and staff.
Weingarten returned to campus in September to teach a course on work organization for the second time since 2024.
In recent weeks, protests on campus and in the broader Ithaca community have criticized the university’s handling of the matter, with several student organizations calling for administrators to resign. Negative reactions toward the university also grew on social media platforms, attracting national attention.
Both men also supported an independent review of the university’s handling of the matter, calling it “essential.” Sally Yates, former Deputy Attorney General of the United States, was retained by the board and tasked with leading this review on October 6.
They wrote that in addition to the review, trustees have a responsibility to take other actions.
“The Board of Trustees has both the power and the obligation to act when a president can no longer provide the leadership an institution needs,” they added.
Weingarten and Person wrote that protecting one’s community is part of a university president’s responsibilities.
“Our loyalty is to Cornell,” the two alumnae wrote. “Not to someone who would run it.”
Clarification, October 21, 11:55 p.m.: This article has been updated to clarify that the person who Jane Doe said had a conversation with President Michael Kotlikoff was the president of the Tri Delta sorority at the time of the alleged assault, according to Jane Doe.
Everett Chambala is a member of the Class of 2027 in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He is deputy editor of the 144th Editorial Board and can be contacted at echambala@cornellsun.com.
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