On Friday, March 21, Michael I. Kotlikoff was named 15th President. The full Board of Trustees voted on his elevation from Interim President at their March meeting in Ithaca.
In 2024, Martha Pollack decided to retire and approached Kotlikoff to be Interim President for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 academic years. During that second year, Cornell would conduct a nationwide search for a permanent replacement. The unspoken rationale was that the campus was in turmoil in the Spring of 2024 and that many currents would be settled down by the time the Presidential search would be conducted in 2025-26. However, with new challenges to higher education raised in Washington, in both the Congress and the Executive Branch, the amount of conflict has increased, and Cornell will be in more of a crisis in 2026 than in 2023-24.
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Although it is never a good management practice to switch CEOs in the middle of a battle, with Cornell joining 11 other research universities in suing NIH over research grant overhead calculations, the war has already begun, and having the full Board vote on confirming Kotlikoff as its full-fledged leader is a logical step in being ready for a war. Although March 2025 may be a tough time for Cornell, it is a necessary time to clarify Cornell’s leadership.
There are four factors typically raised against selecting someone like Kotlikoff for Cornell’s President:
Age
At 73, Kotlikoff is taking office as both the oldest President in Cornell’s history and the oldest President currently serving in the Ivy League. However, Kotlikoff has been at Cornell since 2000 and was Cornell’s longest-serving Provost. Increasingly, society is abandoning strict rules about mandatory retirement. For example, President David J. Skorton retired from Cornell at age 65 but then served as Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and is now serving as president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges. It is difficult to argue that a man two years older than Kotlikoff can perform these roles successfully but that Kotlikoff should not be allowed to fill his role on a permanent basis due to his age.
Gender
When Cornell searched for its 13th President, Cornell faced organized pressure from Trustees and alumni who demanded that a woman be selected. Elizabeth Garrett was selected but died in office. Hunter Rawlings served as Interim President while a second nationwide search was conducted. The same forces pressed for a second woman President, and Martha Pollack was selected.
Because of Kotlikoff’s vast experience, his elevation to full President outweighs any desire to select a president as a representative of diverse identity groups, and he draws widespread support from Trustees and alumni.
Professional Standing
Historically, Cornell’s presidents represent fields more central to the heart of academia than veterinary medicine.
Most Cornell Presidents held earned doctorates and were full members of the academic community. Prior to coming to Cornell to teach in the Vet School, Kotlikoff was professor and chair of the Department of Animal Biology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned his B.A. in 1973 and VMD in 1981, with a Ph.D.earned at the University of California, Davis, in 1984.
As Provost, Kotlikoff has had a close involvement in every academic department of the university, particularly on budget, STEM, and research issues. He has published 152 papers, and his lab, which he closed in 2021, was continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since he began his research career. He has served in numerous roles at the NIH, including chairing the Board of Scientific Counselors at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and serving on the NIH Council of Councils. So, he is the ideal candidate to lead Cornell in any battle for continued NIH funding or for federal support in general.
Defending the Cornell Traditions
Sometimes, external candidates in a Presidential search study the institution’s website and attempt to note parallel experiences in their own records. Because Cornell’s history is so unique in US higher education, this can become a bit of a challenge. However, Kotlikoff has sought to foster connection and dialogue on campus and to highlight the unique attributes of Cornell – including its history and its ethos, based upon a 25-year track record. During his nine months as Interim President, he has forged a solid coalition between the left, center, and right of Cornellians – he has united them to be prepared to challenge threats to Cornell’s academic freedom and to individual Cornellians’ freedom of expression.
As a result of the Board’s action removing “Interim” from his title, he can carry greater weight in Washington as he defends Cornell. He can also address each new threat without regard for any transition to the next leader in June 2026.
If anything, the Trustees acting today removes a great deal of uncertainty and internal jockeying for power during any transition and avoids the unresolved question of how much input shared governance groups should have in a Presidential search process.
