I am writing to set the record straight with respect to the invitation to Ann Coulter ’84 to speak on campus. Indeed, as reported by the Daily Sun, at the recent Board of Trustees meeting Nadine Strossen, the John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law at New York Law School, expressed her concern regarding Ms. Coulter’s disrupted presentation at Cornell, and suggested that she mediate an effort to bring her back to campus. Having been deeply troubled by an invited speaker at Cornell (any speaker) being shouted down and unable to present their views, I agreed that there could be few more powerful demonstrations of Cornell’s commitment to free expression than to have Ms. Coulter return to campus and present her views. This is certainly not because I agree with what she has to say, or because I feel that the content of her presentation is important for our community to hear, but because I believe that Cornell must be a place where the presentation of ideas is protected and inviolable. Shielding students or others in our community from viewpoints with which they disagree, or filtering campus speakers based on the content of their presentation, undermines the fundamental role of a university. To that end, I have worked with the Federalist Society at Cornell, the Cornell Political Union, the Heterodox Academy Campus Community at Cornell and other Cornell organizations to sponsor such a presentation. It is my hope and expectation that Ms. Coulter will deliver her remarks in full and will be met with civility and respect from the Cornell audience.
Michael I. Kotlikoff, Provost