Cornell Faculty Senate Passes No-Confidence Vote in Leadership Over Fraternity Rape Allegations

On Friday afternoon, an email went out to the members of Cornell University's Faculty Senate with the result of a vote that had taken weeks of argument to reach. The senate had approved a resolution declaring "no confidence" in the university's top leaders, 75 to 50. Five senators abstained and five more did not vote.

The resolution is symbolic. The Faculty Senate has no authority over the president or other senior administrators, and the measure did not call for President Michael Kotlikoff to resign. Its backers said they hoped it would push Cornell's board of trustees to confront what they described as longstanding institutional failures.

The vote grew out of a lawsuit filed in mid-September by a former Cornell student, identified in court as Jane Doe. She sued the university and seven former members of the Chi Phi fraternity, alleging she was given ketamine and raped at the fraternity house in October 2024. All of the men have denied the allegations, saying either that the sex was consensual or that they were not involved. The local district attorney initially 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 were suspended and placed on probation. Two were required to write reflection papers and complete bystander training. A seventh man had already graduated and was barred from campus. Kotlikoff also convened a task force on sexual misconduct, which issued some recommendations.

Some faculty said that was not enough. They criticized Kotlikoff for not acting more forcefully to strengthen the disciplinary process, press for criminal investigations, and change campus party culture. Paul Ortiz, a labor history professor and co-sponsor of the resolution, said last week that hundreds of students, staff, alumni, and faculty had approached the sponsors to say the Jane Doe case was "but a tip of the iceberg." He said a "veritable fortress of silence" around sexual violence had been breached since the resolution was introduced.

Kotlikoff addressed senators on the first day of debate. He pledged to make Cornell a leader in confronting sexual assault and asked for more time. Replacing him, he argued, would do little to solve complex problems and could harm the university's reputation. He acknowledged he had not read the campus police report, explaining that university policy bars top administrators from interfering in criminal investigations. He rejected suggestions that he had been indifferent to the woman's case, though he conceded he had only recently learned she had left Cornell. He also said the university must determine whether fraternities can operate safely, leaving open sweeping restrictions on Greek life, and said decisions should rest on research and evidence rather than emotion.

The trustees responded Friday. They said the vote reflected deep anger on campus and sent a "clear signal that what happened to Jane Doe is unacceptable," but maintained that Kotlikoff and his administration were the right leaders to address the issue "thoughtfully and comprehensively." Board chair Anne Smalling said the board fully supports the president, and pointed to expanded prevention education, additional victim advocates, and more staff in the Office of Civil Rights. Thomas Giuffra, Jane Doe's attorney, said he hoped the vote would be another step toward educating and supporting the Cornell community on what he called the longstanding scourge of sexual assault on campus.

Some professors had urged the senate to wait for an independent investigation by Sally Yates, the former U.S. Deputy Attorney General, whom Cornell hired to examine how it handled the 2024 report and its procedures for similar complaints from other students. That review, along with the attorney general's reopened inquiry, is what to watch next.