Cornell Faculty Senate Votes No Confidence in Leadership Over Handling of Alleged Gang Rape

On Friday, Cornell University's Faculty Senate passed a resolution declaring "no confidence" in the school's top leaders. The tally was 75 in favor and 50 opposed, with five senators abstaining and five others not voting, according to an email sent to senators that afternoon. The vote came after weeks of argument among professors over how the administration has handled a former student's allegation that she was gang raped at a fraternity party in 2024.

The lawsuit that set this in motion was filed in mid-September. The woman, identified in court papers as Jane Doe, 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 seven men deny the allegations. Some say the sex was consensual, and others say they were not involved. The local district attorney first concluded that she had consented and that no crime had been committed, but the investigation has since been reopened and handed to New York's attorney general.

Cornell's own process produced discipline of varying severity. Following a monthslong Title IX investigation, two of the accused students were expelled and two were suspended and placed on probation. Two more were required to write reflection papers and complete bystander training. A seventh man had already graduated and was barred from campus, according to records obtained by The New York Times.

The resolution has no binding force. The Faculty Senate cannot remove or discipline the president. Backers said they hoped it would pressure the board of trustees to address what they described as longstanding institutional failures. It did not call for President Michael Kotlikoff to resign. Some faculty have faulted him for not moving more forcefully to strengthen the disciplinary process, press for criminal investigations and change campus party culture.

Paul Ortiz, a labor history professor who co-sponsored the measure, said last week that hundreds of students, staff, alumni and faculty had approached the sponsors. They told him, he said, that the Jane Doe case is "but a tip of the iceberg," and that since the resolution was introduced, "a veritable fortress of silence has been breached" around sexual violence.

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. He argued that replacing him would do little to solve complex problems and could harm the university's reputation. He acknowledged he had not read the campus police report, saying university policy bars top administrators from interfering in criminal investigations. He rejected the idea that he had been indifferent to the woman's case, though he said 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 that decisions should rest on research and evidence rather than emotion. He had also convened a task force on sexual misconduct, which released some recommendations.

The board of trustees responded Friday that the vote reflected deep anger on campus and sent a "clear signal that what happened to Jane Doe is unacceptable." It said, however, 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 sexual assault 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 and addressing what he called the longstanding scourge of sexual assault on campus.

Some professors argued that faculty should wait for an independent investigation by Sally Yates, the former U.S. Deputy Attorney General. Cornell hired her to examine both how the university responded to the woman's initial report in 2024 and its broader procedures for handling similar reports. Her findings, the attorney general's reopened inquiry and any decision on Greek life are the next things to watch.