Randi Weingarten ’80, president of the American Federation of Teachers, and Melinda Person ’98 M.S. ’05, president of the New York State United Teachers, called on the Cornell Board of Trustees to demand President Michael Kotlikoff’s resignation in a Tuesday letter posted on Instagram.
They cited the University’s handling of the alleged 2024 gang rape at the Chi Phi fraternity house as their reasoning for calling on the Trustees. They also criticized Kotlikoff for not following up with Jane Doe, the plaintiff in a September lawsuit which alleged the assault, after initially hearing about the allegations in 2024.
The union presidents called Kotlikoff’s lack of follow up 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, where she described feeling “unsupported and disbelieved” by Kotlikoff after hearing about a conversation she claimed was held between Kotlikoff and the president of the Tri Delta sorority at the time of the alleged assault.
Jane Doe wrote that Kotlikoff had asked the former sorority president, “Why did she wait so long to report it?” She added that the former sorority president felt Kotlikoff doubted her 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 alumnae and spearhead two of America’s largest labor unions.
The AFT represents members of K-12 faculty and staff, healthcare professionals and higher education faculty and staff, with 1.875 million members, according to its website. NYSUT, which is affiliated with the AFT, comprises 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 class on labor 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 case, with several student organizations calling for the resignation of administrators. Pushback to the University has also proliferated on social media platforms, drawing national attention.
The pair also supported an independent review into the University’s handling of the case, calling it “essential.” Sally Yates, a former U.S. deputy attorney general, was retained by the Board of Trustees and tasked with leading this review on Oct. 6.
They wrote that, in addition to the review, the Trustees have a responsibility to take further steps.
“The Board of Trustees has both the authority 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 any one individual who happens to lead it.”
Clarification, Oct. 21, 11:55 p.m.: This article has been updated to clarify that the person who Jane Doe claimed had a conversation with President Michael Kotlikoff was the Tri Delta sorority president at the time of the alleged assault, according to Jane Doe.
Everett Chambala
Everett Chambala is a member of the Class of 2027 in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He is an assistant news editor for the 144th Editorial Board and can be reached at echambala@cornellsun.com.
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