Cornell University’s faculty senate approved a resolution on 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 ۲۰۲۴.
The resolution passed ۷۵-۵۰, with five faculty senators abstaining and five others not voting, according to an email sent to members of the faculty senate on Friday afternoon.
The vote followed weeks of debate among professors over whether Cornell’s president, Michael Kotlikoff, and other administrators handled the woman’s allegations properly and whether they’ve 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 urgently address what they viewed as longstanding institutional failures.
Voting took place electronically over more than a week, with the results released on Friday.
The board of trustees said on Friday that the vote reflected deep anger on campus and sent a “clear signal that what happened to Jane Doe is unacceptable”, but added that Kotlikoff and his administration were the right leaders to “thoughtfully and comprehensively” address the issue.
“The board fully supports President Kotlikoff and his administration as they continue to listen and act decisively in support of students,” board chair Anne Smalling said in a statement. She cited expanded sexual assault prevention education, additional victim advocates and more staff at the university’s office of civil rights as evidence of the administration’s response.
Thomas Giuffra, Jane Doe’s attorney, said in a statement on 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.”
The Cornell community has been in a state of distress and dismay since mid-September, when a former student 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 ۲۰۲۴.
All of those men have denied her allegations, saying that either the sex was consensual or 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 after a months long 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 taskforce to study the problem of sexual misconduct on campus, which released certain recommendations.
Some faculty members have been furious with Kotlikoff for not acting more forcefully to strengthen the school’s disciplinary process, push for criminal investigations and change campus party culture.
The no-confidence resolution did not call for Kotlikoff’s resignation.
