Teachers union leaders Weingarten and Person urge Cornell trustees to demand President Kotlikoff's resignation
The AFT and NYSUT presidents, both Cornell alumnae, cited the university's handling of an alleged 2024 sexual assault at a fraternity house, the Cornell Daily Sun reported. Cornell has disputed part of the account they relied on.
As of 8:09 a.m. ET, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, and Melinda Person, president of New York State United Teachers, called on Cornell University's Board of Trustees to demand President Michael Kotlikoff's resignation in a letter posted on Instagram on Tuesday, the Cornell Daily Sun reported.
The two, both Cornell alumnae, cited the university's handling of an alleged 2024 gang rape at the Chi Phi fraternity house, according to the Sun. GROKsiNEWS.com earlier reported on the university's response and a planned faculty vote.
What the letter says
"Leadership requires more than carefully worded statements," the letter reads, according to the Sun. "It requires action, accountability and a willingness to stand with the people who make an institution what it is."
The union presidents called Kotlikoff's lack of follow-up with the woman who later sued, identified in court papers as Jane Doe, a "failure of leadership," the Sun reported. "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 wrote. "Our loyalty is to Cornell. Not to any one individual who happens to lead it."
The letter also referred to an Oct. 14 letter Jane Doe sent to the Faculty Senate, in which she wrote that Kotlikoff had asked the Tri Delta sorority's president at the time, "Why did she wait so long to report it?" according to the Sun. Cornell has disputed Jane Doe's claim that Kotlikoff questioned her reporting, the Sun reported.
Weingarten and Person also backed the independent review of the university's handling of the case, calling it "essential," according to the Sun. The trustees retained Sally Yates, a former U.S. deputy attorney general, on Oct. 6 to lead that review.
What is not known
The Sun's report does not include a response from Kotlikoff or the Board of Trustees to the letter.
Sources
- The Cornell Daily Sun, Everett Chambala, "Two Top Teachers Union Presidents Call on Trustees to Demand Cornell President's Resignation," published 9:58 PM ET Oct. 21, 2026 (01:58 UTC Oct. 22), updated 11:55 PM ET (03:55 UTC Oct. 22)
