SA R69 (2025-2026): Urging Cornell to Support Higher TCAT Funding

Returned by the President

• Resolution:
  SA R69 (2025-2026): Urging Cornell to Support Higher TCAT Funding
• Day:
  April 24, 2026
• Action:
  Returned by the President
• Summary / Notes:
• File Attachments:
• Text Attachment:

  Dear Zora,

  Thank you for conveying Resolution 69: Urging Cornell to Support Higher TCAT Funding. I am returning this resolution to the Assembly for further work. 

  Cornell invests heavily in TCAT as one of three underwriters and through our Bus Pass Program Agreement, and we appreciate the importance of a strong local transit system for all involved. The current Bus Pass Program Agreement was originally negotiated in 2023 and runs through June 30, 2027. Cornell and TCAT have also had similar agreements in the past. In all of them, TCAT has recognized the value it receives: a higher level of utilization and higher yield for operating hours that result from providing this type of service to a large, prepaid customer base.

  The SA resolution as written contains, from my perspective, errors of fact and omission, and does not cite the research that led to the resolution’s assertions. In order to move forward, it would be necessary to support these assertions and to consider TCAT’s current fund balances, as well as to detail the sources of funding the SA proposes to utilize for TCAT to provide additional bus passes to the undergraduate community. Finally, one should consider how an increase in Cornell funding for TCAT would affect Cornell costs, and what other student expenditures could be transferred to provide this funding. 

   

  Sincerely, 

   

  Michael Kotlikoff 

  Michael Kotlikoff, V.M.D., Ph.D., Sc.D. (h.c.)

  President and Professor of Molecular Physiology

  Cornell University