Cornell Faculty Senate passes no-confidence resolution in university leaders

Trustees back President Michael Kotlikoff after vote tied to 2024 gang-rape lawsuit

The Faculty Senate voted 75-50 on Friday to approve the no-confidence resolution, with five senators abstaining and five others not voting, according to an email sent to Faculty Senate members Friday afternoon. The vote capped weeks of debate among professors over whether President Michael Kotlikoff and other administrators handled the woman’s allegations properly and whether they have done enough to curtail sexual misconduct at the university.

The faculty body holds no power over the university’s top leaders, and the resolution did not call for Kotlikoff’s resignation. Backers had said they hoped it would pressure Cornell’s trustees to urgently address what they viewed as longstanding institutional failures.

Campus discontent has been building since mid-September, when a former student filed a lawsuit against the university and seven former members of the Chi Phi fraternity. The suit alleges she was given ketamine and raped at a fraternity house in October 2024.

All seven men have denied the allegations, saying either that the sex was consensual or that they were not involved. The local district attorney initially determined that the woman had consented to the encounter and that no crime was 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, according to records obtained by The New York Times. Two were expelled, two received suspensions and probation, and two were required to write “reflection” papers and complete bystander training. The seventh man had already graduated and was barred from campus. Kotlikoff also convened a task force to study the problem of sexual misconduct on campus, which released certain recommendations.

The board of trustees said Friday that the vote reflected deep anger on campus and sent a “clear signal that what happened to Jane Doe is unacceptable.” The board 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 pointed to expanded sexual assault prevention education, additional victim advocates and staffing increases at the university’s Office of Civil Rights as evidence of the administration’s response.

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. Paul Ortiz, a labor history professor who co-sponsored the resolution, said last week that hundreds of students, staff, alumni and faculty had approached its 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.

Speaking to Faculty Senate members on the first day they debated the resolution, Kotlikoff pledged to make the university a leader in addressing sexual assault and asked for more time to make changes. He defended his leadership, arguing that replacing him would do little to solve complex problems and could damage Cornell’s reputation.

Kotlikoff acknowledged that 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 acknowledged not knowing until recently that she had left Cornell.

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

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