Interim President Michael Kotlikoff sent a statement to the Cornell community on Friday morning addressing campus concerns regarding recent changes to federal regulations and guidelines relating to cuts in federal research funding and research and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. In the statement, Kotlikoff both affirmed the University’s commitment to following the law and described diversity as essential to the University’s mission.
Kotlikoff announced in the statement the creation of a new university response planning team, which will be led by Provost Kavita Bala to analyze the impacts of the new federal policies.
“This is a dynamic and evolving situation, and our response planning team will be prepared to address new developments as they arise,” Kotlikoff wrote.
The statement addresses a Feb. 14 letter sent by the U.S. Department of Education to federally funded educational institutions, including Cornell, calling for the end of “racial preferences” regarding admissions, hiring and institutional programming. If the institutions do not comply within two weeks, they may be subject to investigation and the loss of federal funding, according to the ED.
Kotlikoff wrote that Cornell will continue to affirm its “founding principle of opportunity and access” and commitment to free inquiry and openness that “helped make Cornell the model of the modern American research university.”
The statement explained that diversity is essential to the University's mission. Kotlikoff wrote that diversity comes in many different forms — which include lived experience, geographic location, viewpoints and veteran status — and it is critical to Cornell’s “‘any person’ history.”
Though Kotlikoff wrote that the University “prizes diversity as a driver of our excellence,” he also affirmed that Cornell is “committed to merit-based decisions,” in all processes.
“Just as we do not exclude anyone at Cornell for reasons irrelevant to merit, neither do we admit or evaluate students, hire or promote employees, award chairs or tenure, or make any other merit-driven decisions at Cornell based on race, ethnicity, or other attributes not relevant to merit,” Kotlikoff wrote.
The statement emphasized the importance that members of the Cornell community be cautious to ensure the University follows the law amid new federal policies relating to DEI initiatives.
“We must be vigilant, particularly, to ensure that when Cornell departments, organizations, or interest groups offer programming designed to support particular groups within our community, those opportunities are equally open to all, without bias for or against any groups,” Kotlikoff wrote.
However, Kotlikoff also wrote that the University continues to maintain its commitment to “ensuring equal opportunity for all of our students, faculty, and staff, without regard to race, gender, or any other characteristic protected by law” and will “continue to convey this commitment to nondiscrimination in communications and our activities.“
The statement also addressed federal guidance surrounding research. After affirming that “Cornell follows the law,” Kotlikoff emphasized that as far as the University is aware, “none of the recent federal guidance limits the academic freedom of our community to research or study any subject [or] our ability to exercise free expression within a safe and respectful community.”
The National Institutes of Health announced on Feb. 7 that it would limit “indirect cost payments” that help fund the facilities associated with University medical research grants. In response to the funding cuts, Cornell and 11 universities sued the NIH.
An investigation led by U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-T.X.) also included 22 Cornell research projects on a database of over 3,400 grants awarded by the National Science Foundation that he is requesting the agency conduct “significant scrutiny” of for “promot[ing] Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) or advanc[ing] neo-Marxist class warfare propaganda,” detailed a Feb. 11 press release.
The Friday University statement comes three weeks after administrators announced on Jan. 28 the creation of a new central email address and website to provide Cornellians with updates about federal policy changes and executive orders under the Trump administration.
“We will continue … to work to ensure that our principles are consistently maintained, and to advance our mission in ways that comply with existing federal and state law,” Kotlikoff wrote.
Matthew Kiviat is a member of the Class of 2027 in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is the assistant managing editor for the 143rd Editorial Board and was a news editor for the 142nd Editorial Board. He can be reached at mkiviat@cornellsun.com.
