Cornell faculty vote ‘no confidence’ in university leadership after alleged fraternity gang rape

Cornell University’s Faculty Senate approved a resolution Friday declaring “no confidence” in the school’s top leaders, a symbolic gesture reflecting deep discontent on campus in the wake of a former student’s lawsuit saying she was gang raped at a fraternity party in 2024.

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.

The vote followed weeks of debate among professors over whether Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff and other administrators handled the woman’s allegations properly and have done enough to curtail sexual misconduct at the prestigious university.

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.

Board of Trustees Chair Anne Smalling said in a statement the faculty vote “reflects the deep anger across our campus” and sent a clear signal that what happened to the woman was unacceptable, but added that Kotlikoff and his administration were the right leaders to “thoughtfully and comprehensively” address the issue.

Thomas Giuffra, an attorney for the woman who filed the lawsuit, said in a statement Friday that “we are hopeful that this will be yet another step forward to educate and support the Cornell community by addressing the longstanding scourge of sexual assault on campus.”

Lawsuit sparked outrage on campus

The Cornell community has been distressed since mid-September, when a former student, identified only by the pseudonym Jane Doe in court documents, filed a lawsuit against the university and seven former members of the Chi Phi fraternity, saying she was given ketamine and raped at a fraternity house in October 2024.

All of the men have denied her allegations, saying the sex was consensual or that they weren’t involved. The local district attorney initially decided the woman had consented to the encounter and that no crime had been committed, but the investigation has since been reopened and handed to New York’s attorney general.

Cornell disciplined several of the accused students following a monthslong Title IX investigation. Two were expelled, two received suspensions and probation, and two 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.

Kotlikoff also convened a task force to study the problem of sexual misconduct on campus, which released certain recommendations.

Some faculty members have criticized Kotlikoff for not acting more forcefully to strengthen the school’s disciplinary process, push for criminal investigations and change campus party culture.

Paul Ortiz, a labor history professor who co-sponsored the no-confidence resolution, said last week that hundreds of students, staff, alumni and faculty approached the resolution’s sponsors to emphasize that “the Jane Doe case is but a tip of the iceberg” and that “a veritable fortress of silence has been breached” around sexual violence since the resolution’s introduction.

Cornell’s president defended his leadership

Speaking to Faculty Senate members on the first day that they debated the no-confidence resolution, Kotlikoff pledged to make the university a leader in addressing sexual assault and asked for more time to make changes.

Kotlikoff defended his leadership, arguing that replacing him would do little to solve complex problems and could damage Cornell’s reputation. He acknowledged he had not read the campus police report, explaining that university policy barred top administrators from interfering in criminal investigations. He also rejected suggestions he had been indifferent to the woman’s case, though he acknowledged only recently learning she had left Cornell.

Kotlikoff said the university needed to determine whether fraternities could operate safely and left open the possibility of sweeping restrictions on Greek life. He argued that decisions should be based on research and evidence rather than emotion.

Some professors had said faculty should wait to vote until the release of an independent investigation by former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, whom the university hired to examine how Cornell responded to the woman’s initial rape report in 2024 and its overall procedures for handling similar reports from other students.

Iris Packman, a co-sponsor of the no-confidence resolution, said Friday that the vote was “only the beginning” and that faculty would push for sweeping reforms.

“Today we distanced ourselves from this leadership and said: They don’t speak for us. They are not the Cornell that we know and love,” she said during a virtual news conference. “We are Cornell, and we know Cornell can and must do better.”

The no-confidence resolution did not call for Kotlikoff’s resignation.

Leah Willingham, The Associated Press