Dear Professor Bali and Professor Brand:
Thank you for your letter of 26 November, in which you share your concerns regarding the contents of a private email between myself and a member of the faculty at Cornell University.
Assertions to the contrary notwithstanding, this was not a public criticism of Professor Cheyfitz’s proposed course, but a private response to the expressed concerns of a colleague that was then provided to the press by that faculty member. As I stated in that message, I could not and would not interfere with the teaching of the class, despite my personal reservations.
At Cornell, curricular decisions rest with our independent faculty, and with them alone. In this case, there was no faculty oversight of the content of this particular course, as the curriculum committee of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences leaves the question of content to the academic unit, and the chair of the relevant unit signed the course request without broader faculty review of course content.
I send you both my best wishes for the holiday.
Sincerely,
Mike Kotlikoff
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Michael Kotlikoff, V.M.D., Ph.D., Sc.D. (h.c.)
Interim President and Professor of Molecular Physiology,
Cornell University