Cornell Faculty Pass No-Confidence Resolution Over Handling of Fraternity Rape Allegations

Cornell University's Faculty Senate voted Friday to declare no confidence in the school's top leaders. The resolution passed 75-50, with five senators abstaining and five others not voting, according to an email sent to senate members that afternoon. Voting was held electronically over more than a week, and the result was released on Friday.

The vote came out of a case that has unsettled the campus since mid-September. That month, a former student sued the university and seven former members of the Chi Phi fraternity. She says she was given ketamine and raped at the fraternity house in October 2024. All of the men have denied the allegations. Some say the sex was consensual, and others say they were not involved.

The criminal side of the case has shifted. The local district attorney first concluded that the woman had consented and that no crime had been committed. That investigation has since been reopened and handed to New York's attorney general.

Cornell's own process ended in discipline after a monthslong Title IX investigation, according to records obtained by The New York Times. Two of the accused students were expelled. Two received suspensions and probation. Two were required to write reflection papers and complete bystander training. A seventh man had already graduated and was barred from campus.

President Michael Kotlikoff also convened a task force on sexual misconduct, which has released some recommendations. Still, a number of faculty members are furious that he did not act more forcefully. They wanted a stronger disciplinary process, pressure for criminal investigations, and changes to campus party culture.

The senate has no authority over the president or other top administrators. Backers said they hoped the resolution would press Cornell's trustees to address what they see as longstanding institutional failures. Notably, it does not call for Kotlikoff to resign. Paul Ortiz, a labor history professor and co-sponsor, said hundreds of students, staff, alumni and faculty had approached the sponsors to say the Jane Doe case is "but a tip of the iceberg." He added that "a veritable fortress of silence has been breached" around sexual violence since the resolution was introduced.

Kotlikoff addressed senators on the first day of debate. He pledged to make Cornell a leader on sexual assault and asked for time to make more changes. He argued that replacing him would do little to solve complex problems and could harm the university's reputation. He acknowledged that he had not read the campus police report, saying policy bars top administrators from interfering in criminal investigations. He rejected the suggestion that he had been indifferent to her case, though he conceded he had only recently learned that she left Cornell.

He said the university must determine whether fraternities can operate safely, and he left open the possibility of sweeping restrictions on Greek life. Decisions, he said, should rest on research and evidence rather than emotion.

Some professors also counseled patience. They argued that the faculty should wait for the independent investigation by Sally Yates, the former U.S. Deputy Attorney General. Cornell hired her to examine how it responded to the woman's initial report in 2024 and how it handles similar reports from other students. Her findings and the attorney general's reopened inquiry are the next developments to watch.