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Cornell Faculty Votes No Confidence in Leadership Over Sexual Assault Handling
Confirmed
In Short: Cornell University faculty voted no confidence in the university's leadership on Friday, citing the administration's handling of a sexual assault case involving a female student and seven male students at a fraternity house.
The resolution passed by a vote of 75-50, with five abstentions, and reflects the faculty's deep anger over the university's response to the alleged gang rape.
According to a lawsuit, the female student was assaulted in 2024 and reported the incident to Cornell Police in November 2024.
The Faculty Senate's vote is not binding but marks a strong symbolic rebuke of the administration's handling of the case.
Following the initial allegations, Cornell shut down the fraternity and temporarily suspended the accused students, two of whom were later expelled.
In October, Cornell's president suspended fraternity parties on campus for the remaining academic year as part of several preliminary measures to address sexual assault.
The Faculty Senate's move is the first time it has passed a no-confidence vote, according to the labor union that represents the university teaching staff.
The university's Board of Trustees has commissioned an independent probe into its handling of the case, aiming to determine how Cornell investigates reports of sexual assault and sexual harassment.
The former student who alleged the rape said she felt unsupported and disbelieved by the university's president, Michael Kotlikoff, according to a letter she sent to faculty leaders last week.
What's confirmed
- Friday's resolution states that the faculty "has no confidence in the ability of the central administration to effectively address the ongoing crisis of sexual assault at Cornell University." It passed by a vote of 75-50, with five abstentions.
- The resolution passed 75-50, with five faculty senators abstaining and five others not voting, according to an email sent to Faculty Senate members on Friday afternoon.
- READ MORE: Woman who accused Cornell students of rape says university president's response made her feel 'unsupported' While the faculty body has no power over the university's top leaders, backers of the resolution had said they hoped it would pressure Cornell's trustees to address longstanding institutional failures they identified.
- The Faculty Senate passed its vote of no confidence in the Cornell administration’s handling of the “ongoing crisis of sexual assault” on campus, in a 75-50 vote announced on Friday.
- In an Oct. 14 letter obtained by The Associated Press, the woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, described a secondhand account of President Michael Kotlikoff’s remarks shortly after she reported the alleged assault in November 2024.
- The university's Board of Trustees said Yates assessment will seek to determine how Cornell investigates reports of sexual assault and sexual harassment, what support students get, how the disciplinary process works, campus police responses and oversight of fraternities, sororities and other student organizations.
- The Associated Press on Tuesday obtained a letter she sent to faculty leaders last week.
What's still developing
- Members of the faculty told CBS News New York the resolution questioned whether Cornell's administration can effectively address the ongoing crisis of sexual assault on campus.
- In a strong but symbolic repudiation, Cornell University’s Faculty Senate has voted no confidence in senior administrators’ handling of the sexual-assault crisis that has roiled the Ithaca, N.Y., campus.
- In a striking move, the Faculty Senate at Cornell University issued a rarely-invoked vote of no confidence against the school’s administration on Friday afternoon, offering a united front in rebuking senior officials over how they have handled sexual assaults on campus.