In protests, statements and open letters, some Cornell students and faculty members continued to express outrage this week at how the university had handled allegations of a gang rape at a fraternity house two years ago. But inside the meeting halls where the university's powerful board of trustees gathered on Thursday and Friday, there were no visible cracks in its unity. The trustees' prevailing concerns appeared to be about quickly getting clarity on how the university was addressing the fallout from the allegations made by the former undergraduate, Jane Doe, and about creating additional support for students -- and not about anger or a push for a no-confidence vote in Cornell's president, Michael I.
Kotlikoff. Cornell canceled its annual drone and laser show to respect a moratorium on student events passed by Ithaca's town council in the wake of the lawsuit. Student organizers canceled a concert out of respect for survivors of sexual violence.
Rainy skies left some events sparsely attended. And there were no outward fireworks from the board, which has the power to force resignations over the Jane Doe case. Three brief meetings open to the public between Thursday and Friday -- the longest of which lasted 25 minutes -- provided a glimpse at an assembly determined to present itself as collegial and unfazed.
None of the university's 64 trustees were willing to speak on the record to the media during the meetings, some using even umbrellas to block a photographer's view of them on a rainy day. Earlier in the week, Board Chair Anne Smalling appeared with Dr. Kotlikoff during an interview with The New York Times, an implicit endorsement of his leadership. The board has stuck with Dr. Kotlikoff though other crises -- the divisive student protests over the Israel-Hamas war, the university's $60 million deal with the Trump White House, and an embarrassing incident in which he bumped into protesters with his car.
While the campus's faculty senate is debating a resolution of no confidence in the administration, some alumni and donors are clearly standing behind Dr. Kotlikoff. John S. Dyson, a trustee emeritus and a major Cornell donor, said that the trust was because he and others felt Dr. Kotlikoff had taken appropriate steps in the immediate aftermath of Jane Doe's allegations and through the recent fallout.
He felt it was the district attorney who dropped the board's only public hint at the current crisis came from Harriet P. Schleifer, the university relations committee chair: "As you know, we have had some difficult times at Cornell and the broader community," she told fellow trustees at an open meeting on Thursday. "I do think it's important that we are all together here today.".
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