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Kot Arraigned on Murder, Arson and Evidence-Tampering Charges
Former C.U. grad student faces '25 to life' if convicted
June 19, 2009 - 10:26pmAfter waiving extradition from Pennsylvania on Thursday, Blazej Kot returned to Ithaca on Friday where he was arraigned on several charges, including the murder of his wife, Caroline Coffey, on June 2.
Tompkins County District Attorney Gwen Wilkinson formally accused Kot with second-degree murder, third-degree arson and tampering with physical evidence in Tompkins County Court with Judge John C. Rowley presiding.
Originally from New Zealand, Kot, who was a Cornell graduate student in information sciences, is no longer a registered student, according to CUPD Chief Kathy Zoner. If found guilty of the charges, Kot could serve anywhere from "25 [years] to life" in jail, Wilkinson said at a press conference on Friday.
Brown Selected as Next Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education
June 14, 2009 - 12:00amThe University announced last week that Prof. Laura Brown, English, will become the next Provost for Undergraduate Education in July. The announcement came almost four months after Brown's predecessor, Michelle Moody-Adams, accepted the position as Dean of Columbia College.
Brown is currently the John Wendell Anderson Professor of English. Throughout her 28 years at Cornell, she has served as a director of the graduate program and chaired the English department from 2002 to 2005. She was also involved in the Provost's Committee on the Status of Women about 20 years ago and recently served on the Faculty Senate.
Grad Student Accused of Murder Will Fight Extradition to N.Y.
Kot's attorney alleges violation of due process
June 11, 2009 - 2:43pmITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — A Cornell University graduate student from New Zealand charged with murdering his wife wants an extradition hearing in Pennsylvania to fight his return to New York.
New York authorities have charged 24-year-old Blazej Kot with second-degree murder in the slaying last week of his wife, Caroline Coffey, a 28-year-old Cornell postdoctoral researcher. Her body was found last week along a wooded trail in Taughannock Falls State Park.
Police say Kot tried to kill himself after a police chase and was airlifted to a Sayre, Pa., hospital for treatment of a life-threatening knife wound.
Ratan Tata '59 Fields Questions on Business, Politics and Life at Annual Olin Lecture
June 7, 2009 - 12:00amIt has been over 50 years since Ratan Tata ’59 arrived at Cornell for freshman orientation, but on Friday, the chairman and CEO of the multinational conglomerate Tata Sons Ltd. told students and alumni that the event was still fresh in his mind.
“I was one of about 2,000 people and very frightened,” Tata reminisced. “They told us to look to your left, look to your right … One of you won’t be here in four years.”
This was only one of the things that Tata talked about in the annual Olin Lecture titled “Corporate Social Responsibility in the 21st Century” during Reunion Week.
Cornell Grad Student Charged With Murder of Wife
June 5, 2009 - 5:30pmCornell graduate student Blazej Kot was charged on Thursday evening with the second-degree murder of his wife, Caroline Coffey, a Cornell researcher in biomedical engineering, according to a statement issued by New York State Police.
The body of 28-year-old Coffey was found on Wednesday morning on a wooded trail in Taughannock Falls State Park. An autopsy later showed that she suffered a fatal cut to the neck, the Associated Press reported.
Police said that Kot led them on a five-minute chase on Tuesday night before crashing his vehicle. They found him with an apparent self-inflicted injury, according to the AP. The AP also reported that police later found the couple’s house on fire.
Univ. Library Allows Free Usage of Digitized Public Domain Items
Users can now freely reproduce or publish some materials from the Library's online collection
May 31, 2009 - 12:00amOpen access — the free availability and use of library materials online — took another step forward this month when the Cornell University Library dropped restrictions on the reproduction of public domain items from its collections.
The Library no longer requires users to secure permission or pay any accompanying permissions fees to reproduce or publish material from its digital collections. This announcement, which comes amidst plans by the Cornell Library Board to establish a fund to support open access publishing, has been eagerly received by many in the online community.
According to a press statement, “the Library, as the producer of digital reproductions made from its collections, has in the past licensed the use of those reproductions.”
Trustees Vote "Yes" on Milstein, But Faculty Concerns Linger
May 30, 2009 - 12:00amCornell's Board of Trustees voted unanimously on May 24 to support President David Skorton's recommendation to proceed with the construction of Milstein Hall. This green-light for the project comes after several months of contentious campus debate over whether the University should continue with Milstein Hall in the wake of its financial troubles.
“It wasn’t an easy decision,” Chairman of the Board of Trustees Peter Meinig ’62 said. “Every now and then, we need to make such tough decisions … You can’t shut down a university where there are programmatic imperatives.”
Cornell Student Seriously Injured After Gorge Accident
May 27, 2009 - 3:51pm Updated.
The status of a recent Cornell graduate who was hospitalized with serious injuries after a gorge-swimming accident in Ithaca on Monday has improved to “fair condition,” according to a hospital official.
Leslie Reed ’09 was one of several individuals swimming in Six Mile Creek near the old-hydro electric plant just one day after her graduation from Cornell when she slipped while attempting to dive into the water, witnesses told the Ithaca Fire Department.
Reed was reportedly unconscious when the Fire Department was dispatched to the scene at the 300 block of Giles Street.
At Convocation, Plouffe Urges Graduates to Strike Balance Between Work and Family
Senior campaign raises record-setting $85,000
May 25, 2009 - 12:00amAfter four memory-filled years, members of the class of 2009 — as well as their friends and family — gathered on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field to mark the conclusion of their days high above Cayuga's waters.
“Our final days at Cornell are much like the first ones: confusing, overwhelming, and filled with uncertainty of what’s to come,” said C.J. Slicklen ’09, convocation chair and opening speaker. “We take comfort knowing that just as in orientation, we as a class are having the same feelings.”
Ithaca's Longtime ABC Café to Close Next Month
May 23, 2009 - 12:00amAfter serving vegetarian and traditional fare, as well as desserts and coffee, to the local community for nearly 30 years, the Apple Blossom Café, better known as the ABC Café, will close on June 21.
Ken Hallett, owner of the café that is located on Stewart Avenue, said that the business cannot afford the rent and received an eviction notice from its landlord.
“I have been doing this for 28 years and as the owner, I can’t do it anymore. I have to be the general manager and head chef at same time and run the business, so I need a change of pace,” Hallett said. “I tried to sell the business a few months back because the longtime lease was up in December, but we never completed the sale and it went into debt [that is] too much to climb out of.”