May 18, 2026
A Board of Trustees review of the incident found no criminal responsibility on either side.
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A review of the April 30 incident in which Cornell University president Michael Kotlikoff bumped a student with his car following a campus event has determined that no one should be held criminally responsible, according to a statement from the Board of Trustees.
But the Ad Hoc Special Committee of the Board, which conducted the review, criticized the student protesters for the incident, writing that their actions, “which included following President Kotlikoff from an evening event into a parking lot and impeding his ability to leave, are inconsistent with university policies governing expressive activity and our standards for respectful conduct, safety, and the prohibition of intimidation.”
