Cornell faculty advance no-confidence vote over handling of sexual assault case

The faculty senate vote

The faculty senate at Cornell University voted on Wednesday, 28 October, to advance a no-confidence resolution against the school's central administration. Senators rejected a motion that would have moved the measure to the University Faculty Committee and held it back until an independent inquiry reported. The delay motion failed 48 to 76. The senate cannot remove any administrator, and its decision would not be binding, although a yes vote would be a sharp rebuke of President Michael Kotlikoff. Online voting begins on Thursday, 29 October, runs for one week, and is expected to produce results on 6 November.

Paul Ortiz, the lead faculty sponsor of the resolution, said it was time to send a powerful signal to the administration that the campus response to the allegations was unacceptable.

“Hundreds of students, staff, faculty and alumni approached the sponsors of this resolution to emphasize to us that the Jane Doe case is but a tip of the iceberg”

The resolution and its wording

More than a dozen senators proposed the resolution in early October, and more than 100 additional faculty members have since signed on in support. Unlike other faculty no-confidence resolutions, the text names neither specific policies nor the president. Instead it holds the 'central administration' responsible for what it calls an ongoing crisis of sexual assault at the university. Wednesday's debate also turned to the persistently high rates of sexual assault on campus, not only the allegations brought by the former undergraduate. At a tense meeting on 14 October, professor Risa Lieberwitz accused Kotlikoff of reacting only under pressure and of failing to treat sexual violence as a systemic problem, while Kotlikoff defended his handling of the case.

The allegations and the university's response

A former student filed a civil lawsuit in September alleging that seven students raped her over several hours in a fraternity house on campus in October 2024. In a letter sent to faculty in mid-October, she wrote that Kotlikoff's first reaction was to doubt her account and to ask why she had waited so long before going to the authorities. On 13 October, Kotlikoff banned fraternity parties for the rest of the academic year. The university has added staff to its civil rights office, expanded in-person sexual assault prevention classes and hired people focused on supporting victims. Kotlikoff said in a written statement:

“We remain committed to listening, learning, and partnering with the Cornell community to create real cultural change and build a safer Cornell.”

Pressure from outside and calls for resignations

New York Governor Kathy Hochul criticized Cornell campus police for not passing the former student's statements on to prosecutors. On 1 October she appointed Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor to lead a criminal investigation of the case. On Wednesday, the Cornell chapter of the American Association of University Professors asked Kotlikoff, the vice president overseeing student life and other administrators to step down. The chapter also demanded an immediate suspension of Interfraternity Council fraternities and called for a student- and faculty-led effort to build an independent system for investigating and judging sexual assault allegations.

What happens next

Some faculty members reported being contacted by former students who said they had been sexually assaulted on campus in the past. The timeline below shows the key dates so far, including the online vote that opens on 29 October. Even if the measure passes, the senate's decision would only serve as a recommendation and could not force the administration to change course.

Voting closes on 6 November, when the results of the no-confidence vote are expected.