Cornell Faculty Senate Votes No Confidence in Top Leaders Amid Fraternity Assault Lawsuit

On Friday afternoon, an email went out to the members of Cornell University's Faculty Senate with a tally: 75 in favor, 50 opposed, five abstaining and five not voting. The resolution it described declared no confidence in the university's top leaders, a rebuke that carries no binding force but that reflects how far discontent has spread across campus.

The vote came after weeks of debate among professors over a single question: whether President Michael Kotlikoff and other administrators handled a former student's allegations properly, and whether they have done enough to curb sexual misconduct at the school. The Faculty Senate cannot remove anyone. Backers said they hoped the resolution would push Cornell's trustees to confront what they described as longstanding institutional failures. Notably, the resolution did not call for Kotlikoff to resign.

The controversy traces to mid-September, when a former student, identified in court documents only 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 of the men have denied the allegations, saying either that the sex was consensual or that they were not involved. The local district attorney first concluded the woman had consented and that no crime had occurred, but that investigation has been reopened and handed to New York's attorney general.

Cornell's own process ran separately. Following a monthslong Title IX investigation, the university disciplined several of the accused students, according to records obtained by The New York Times. Two were expelled, two were suspended and placed on probation, and 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 has released certain recommendations.

Critics among the faculty say that is not enough. They have faulted Kotlikoff for not moving more forcefully to strengthen the disciplinary process, press for criminal investigations and change the 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 is "but a tip of the iceberg," and that a "veritable fortress of silence" around sexual violence had been breached since the resolution was introduced.

Kotlikoff made his own case to senators on the first day of debate. He pledged to make Cornell a leader in addressing 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, left open the possibility of sweeping limits on Greek life, and argued that decisions should rest on research and evidence rather than emotion.

Some professors had urged colleagues to hold off until an independent investigation by Sally Yates, the former U.S. Deputy Attorney General, is complete. 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.

Board of Trustees Chair Anne Smalling said the vote "reflects the deep anger across our campus" and signals that what happened to the woman was unacceptable. She added that Kotlikoff and his administration were the right leaders to address the problem "thoughtfully and comprehensively." Thomas Giuffra, the woman's attorney, said he hoped the vote would help educate and support the community in confronting what he called the longstanding scourge of sexual assault on campus.

Iris Packman, another co-sponsor, called the vote "only the beginning" at a virtual news conference and said faculty would press for sweeping reforms. "Today we distanced ourselves from this leadership and said: They don't speak for us," she said. Next to watch are the Yates findings and the attorney general's reopened inquiry, both of which could shape the pressure on the trustees.