On January 8, President Michael Kotlikoff gave his annual address to staff. Unlike his state-of-the-university addresses that are open to alumni, this annual event is open to the non-academic staff and is sponsored by the Employee Assembly, both in person and as a live stream, with questions submitted over the internet. The video of the event was posted.
RELATED: Kotlikoff’s Address to Staff Provides Insights
Prior to the talk, the Employee Assembly honored the team that implemented floating holidays at the University. Kotlikoff was introduced by Wendy Treat, Chair of the Employee Assembly.
Kotlikoff started by expressing appreciation for the Cornell staff. “Cornell staff is the backbone of the University. Without you, the magic that occurs in our classrooms, in our residences, in our dining halls, in our libraries, in our laboratories, in our athletic facilities, and everywhere else across our campuses would not occur.”
Kotlikoff addressed “the sea change we experienced with the federal government” in 2025. “The value which the public places in higher education is at an all-time low, as is public confidence in every institution in our country. The Ivy League in particular is seen as elite, expensive, intolerant, and out-of-touch.”
The withholding and non-payment of research funds were largely resolved through a settlement in November. Cornell had two goals: to restore that funding, and to do so in a manner that protects Cornell “as a private entity, that determines its own policies, adjudicates those policies itself, decides whom to hire and whom to admit, and is bound by the law rather than political mandates.” Kotlikoff asserts that the settlement achieves both of those goals.
Kotlikoff encourages everyone to read the settlement itself and the FAQ that Cornell posted online.
Kotlikoff defended the various settlement provisions. The settlement provides for Cornell to agree to provide anonymized admissions data to the government, but that is already required of all universities, and Cornell has provided this data in the past. The settlement requires Cornell to comply with the Foreign Gifts Act, which Cornell is already required to comply with by law. The settlement requires Cornell to annually survey its students, when in the past Cornell has adopted such surveys every other year.
Cornell agreed to pay $10 million per year for three years to the federal government to end the multiple Civil Rights complaints. Continuing to fight these cases would have cost Cornell much more.
Cornell’s relationship with students, faculty, and staff has not changed by the settlement, but Cornell’s relationship with the federal government has changed.
A more resilient Cornell
Many people are asking if this budget-cutting exercise is necessary now that the federal funding has been restored. Yet, in addition to the federal research freeze, Cornell also faced increased costs, staff expansions, extraordinary legal expenses, and the growth of financial aid – all placing stress on the budget. Cornell has also underinvested in deferred building maintenance.
Kotlikoff stated that Cornell must build stronger financial reserves.
The growth of staff is not sustainable. We have laid off 180 staff so far in this school year, and some layoffs will continue through the first half of 2026. Kotlikoff promised to do this “in the most humane way possible.”
On benefits, Cornell is experiencing “enormous increases in health care costs.” This has increased the employee’s contribution to health premiums. Historically, Cornell has covered 90% of individual plans and 75% of dependent coverage. As costs have increased, Cornell has picked up more of the cost; last year, Cornell covered 93% of individual and 81% of dependent coverage. Beginning January 2026, Cornell will cover 91% and 77%, respectively. All other benefits will be reviewed “to ensure they are competitive, efficient and effective.”
Cornell will be providing increases in both base pay and performance awards this year.
Audience Questions and Answers
What things will Cornell staff stop doing? Kotlikoff answered that technical systems are separate for each college or unit, and they can be combined. In admissions, a staff member would check spreadsheets before they are submitted to the federal government, and that can be automated.
Basil Shafi of the Einaldi Center asked about departmental surplus funds being used to support staff that would otherwise be laid off.
Another question asked if Cornell was committed to hiring internal candidates and recognizing the dedication of long-term employees. Kotlikoff noted that Cornell is a very decentralized organization, so it has fewer opportunities to advance as compared with a centralized organization that offers many clear pathways for employee advancement. Kotlikoff hopes that by centralizing certain support functions, more possibilities for advancement will be created. Sean Moeller, Interim Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, claims that the resilient Cornell process has created more communication across units than has occurred before.
One employee followed up on Kotlikoff’s claim that Resilient Cornell would reduce staffing without significantly increasing the workload of specific employees. How will people leaders ensure that this is the case, and what should employees who face an increased workload do? Kotlikoff understands how some workers may feel overburdened during the hiring freeze when a number of positions were left vacant. We need a way to monitor the efficient delivery of services.
Resilient Cornell’s stated goal is not to adversely affect the student experience. Kotlikoff emphasizes that we prioritize our core mission, but that may impact students.
The audience asked about academic staffing. The individual colleges are looking at reducing the number of minors. Individual colleges are under significant pressure.
Kotlikoff concluded by noting Cornell will come through this stronger by doing the resilient Cornell process in a thoughtful manner.
