Cornell University’s faculty senate moved forward Wednesday to hold a vote of no confidence in the Ivy League school’s central administration in the wake of allegations of a rape on campus, rejecting efforts to delay the process.
An online vote will take place starting Thursday, with results expected Nov. 6.
A faculty senator made a motion earlier in the afternoon that the no-confidence resolution be moved to the University Faculty Committee, the liaison between the senate and the school administration, and postponed until the results of an independent inquiry were known.
That effort to pause evaluation of the school’s administration failed.
Cornell’s leaders have been under fire since September, when a former student filed a civil lawsuit alleging that she was the victim of a gang rape at a fraternity house and that the school had failed to enact adequate measures to prevent such an assault.
The university’s president, Michael Kotlikoff, said Wednesday that Cornell’s faculty is central to the school’s mission, and that the university acknowledges and shares the distress that the horrific allegations have provoked on campus. “The discussion and debate within the Faculty Senate is an important component of Cornell’s shared governance and comes at one of the most difficult periods in our history,” he said.
In a written statement, he said the university has been taking immediate steps to strengthen safety and support for victims, including adding staff to the Cornell Office of Civil Rights, expanding in-person sexual assault prevention education, and hiring staff focused on victim advocacy. “We remain committed to listening, learning, and partnering with the Cornell community to create real cultural change and build a safer Cornell,” he said.
On Wednesday, Cornell’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors called for Kotlikoff, the vice president for student and campus life and other administrators to resign. It demanded an immediate suspension of Interfraternity Council fraternities, and for a student- and faculty-led effort to build an independent system to investigate and adjudicate allegations of sexual assault.
If the faculty senate were to vote no confidence in Cornell’s central administration, the results would not be binding. But a “yes” vote would send a strong symbolic signal of faculty concern.
The resolution states that the faculty senate “has no confidence in the ability of the central administration to effectively address the ongoing crisis of sexual assault at Cornell University.” It was submitted by a faculty senator with a dozen co-sponsors.
At a faculty senate meeting this month, the resolution had supporters and opponents. Others urged that a vote be postponed until after the results of independent investigations are known.
In 2024, a Cornell sophomore reported allegations of a gang rape at a campus fraternity. The university suspended the chapter house, launched a task force to examine the problem of sexual assault at Cornell, and began a Title IX investigation that resulted in some sanctions for people allegedly involved. Several of the men were expelled or suspended. No criminal charges were brought.
This fall, the former student filed a civil lawsuit under the name Jane Doe against the university, seven men and other defendants, which prompted outrage, protests and debates over sexual assault, consent and drug use on college campuses nationally.
Lawyers for several of the men accused in the case have denied the allegations, and one has sought to have the case dismissed.
This month, Cornell announced multiple changes, including allowing state police to investigate allegations of sexual assault on campus, adding staff to support people reporting sexual misconduct, and suspending fraternity and sorority parties for the rest of the year.
At a future meeting, the faculty senate is expected to consider a resolution that was on the agenda Wednesday promoting “a sustained faculty commitment to preventing sexual violence,” and calling for the establishment of a faculty-led research center focused on sexual violence and its prevention and a commission led by student leaders.
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