ITHACA, N.Y. — Some of the students outraged by Cornell University's handling of an alleged fraternity house gang rape are directing their ire at the school's president, a longtime molecular physiology professor who has faced several crises since taking the top job.
Michael Kotlikoff was Cornell's longest-serving provost before assuming the presidency on an interim basis in July 2024 and on a permanent basis last year.
In his second month in charge, dining and custodial workers walked off the job in a labor dispute that ended about two weeks later. Last fall, some faculty and students criticized Kotlikoff for agreeing to pay $60 million to end Trump administration civil rights investigations into the Ivy League school. And earlier this year, he defended himself from accusations that he tried to back his car into a group of demonstrators following a debate over Israel and Palestinian rights, saying he was the victim of harassment.
But it was the school's handling of the investigation into the alleged gang rape at the Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024, just a few months into his presidency, that threatens his leadership.
The Cornell faculty senate indicated that it plans to vote on a resolution of no confidence in the school's administrators. And at a Monday protest, students chanted and waved signs calling on Kotlikoff to resign or be fired and for fraternities to be banned.
“Throughout his administration, he’s refused to take accountability for anything that has happened,” said one of the protesters, sophomore Sophia Kong. “He does not represent us.”
Kotlikoff, 75, has come under scrutiny since the woman, identified in court documents only as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit last month alleging she was sexually assaulted by multiple Chi Phi members two years ago after being pressured into drinking alcohol and taking drugs.
The woman reported the alleged assault to Cornell police in November 2024, three weeks after she said it occurred. Campus police investigated and sent a summary of their findings to the district attorney’s office, which relied on the information in deciding not to bring criminal charges. Separately, Cornell conducted a Title IX investigation.
Amid mounting outrage over the school's handling of the case, Kotlikoff called the allegations "deeply disturbing" over the weekend. In an apologetic video, he also reaffirmed his commitment to supporting an independent review called for by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has assailed the campus police department for not fully conveying the woman's story to prosecutors.
No criminal charges have been filed. The Chi Phi chapter was shut down, and the university has said it expelled some students and suspended others. The accused men have all either denied participating or said that the sex that took place was consensual.
Experts are divided on whether it's fair to criticize Kotlikoff
As some experts see it, Kotlikoff had limited options. Without criminal charges, only Cornell's Title IX investigation continued. While the federal law is best known as a gamechanger for female college athletes, it also is supposed to protect sexual assault and harassment accusers. But it is packed with protections for the accused, including giving them the right to cross-examine their accuser. Most victims don't proceed, and when they do, lawsuits from the accuser and accused over the outcome of the proceedings are common.
There are also limits on the punishments schools can mete out, especially for bystanders, said Peter Lake, who directs a center focused on higher education law and policy at Stetson University College of Law in Florida.
If universities act too quickly, they risk a situation like what happened at Duke University two decades ago, when a woman falsely accused three lacrosse players of rape, he said. The players ultimately reached an undisclosed settlement with Duke, which had suspended them, canceled the team's season and forced their coach to resign after the accusations were first made.
But some point to the role of university leadership in setting campus culture. Critics note that Cornell's fraternities have a history of problems, including hazing and sexual misconduct, and argue that more should have been done to set a better tone and educate students about consent.
“If you are the leader of that campus and this is part of your portfolio of what happens on your campus, it’s not like ‘Oh well that only affects the members of that fraternity and the women that they’re attempting to sleep with,’” said Jane Stapleton, co-founder of the Prevention Innovations Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. “That impacts the entire fabric of the culture of, ‘How do men respect women? How safe is it to be a woman?’”
Kotlikoff has discussed steps to address the case
Within a few weeks of the alleged assault, Kotlikoff issued a statement detailing the investigation and decrying the alleged behavior as “abhorrent.”
A task force on sexual assault that was launched afterward included recommendations such as improved education on Title IX and what it described as “sexual citizenship.” The report said that a 2025 survey found that 35% of undergraduate women and 8% of undergraduate men report experiencing sexual assault during their time at Cornell.
The extent of Cornell’s investigation has emerged in court records filed after one of the punished students sued the school. According to Cornell’s account, investigators conducted 50 interviews with 32 witnesses and gathered evidence that included witness accounts, electronic communications and social media messages. The process ultimately led to a disciplinary hearing that stretched over 12 days.
Kotlikoff has called for a “serious look” at Greek life, but the end of fraternities on campus is not being considered. Instead, Kotlikoff said Cornell would engage students, alumni and others in examining how to preserve the benefits of Greek life while strengthening accountability and transparency.
Not every president survives such situations
A little over a decade ago, former Baylor University President Ken Starr, best known for the probe that led to Bill Clinton's presidential impeachment, lost his job amid allegations that the Texas Baptist school mishandled several cases in which football players were accused of attacking women. In 2021, Oregon State trustees accepted the resignation of university president F. King Alexander, concluding he was unable to rebuild trust at the school because of his role in the mishandling of sexual misconduct cases during his previous tenure at Louisiana State University.
More recently, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik was among several U.S. college leaders to resign under pressure for the handling of protests over the war in Gaza.
Soham Bera, a Cornell sophomore, said students have “incredibly low faith” in the university leadership.
“Now, with all this news, with all the attention, we can finally make change,” he said at Monday’s protest.
Lili Rose Mas, a junior who was also calling for Kotlikoff to step down, said she was encouraged by the number of students who joined the protest.
"It makes me have more faith in humanity," Mas said. "I truly think that Gen Z might be the generation that changes the world, because, like, these old people in the admin are not doing anything, but all the students here care about this." ___ Hollingsworth reported from Mission, Kansas. The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.