Cornell No Confidence Vote Passes 75-50 as Faculty Rebuke Leaders Over Alleged Rape Case

The Cornell no confidence vote passed on Friday, when the university’s faculty senate backed a resolution against the school’s top leaders by 75 to 50. Five senators abstained and five did not vote. The result is symbolic, but it lays bare how far trust has eroded on campus since a former student filed a lawsuit in September alleging she was raped at a fraternity house.

What the faculty vote does and doesn’t do

The senate has no power to remove or discipline Cornell’s president, Michael Kotlikoff, or other administrators. The resolution also stops short of demanding his resignation. Its sponsors have said the aim was to press the board of trustees to confront what they describe as longstanding institutional failures. Voting was held electronically for more than a week, and results were emailed to senate members on Friday afternoon.

The trustees responded quickly and did not budge. Board chair Anne Smalling said the vote reflected deep anger on campus and sent a “clear signal that what happened to Jane Doe is unacceptable.” She said the board “fully supports President Kotlikoff and his administration.” She pointed to expanded sexual assault prevention education, more victim advocates and extra staff in the civil rights office as evidence of progress.

The lawsuit behind the dispute

The turmoil dates to mid-September. A former student, identified in court papers as Jane Doe, sued the university and seven former members of the Chi Phi fraternity. She alleges she was given ketamine and raped at a fraternity house in October 2024. All seven men have denied the allegations. Some say the sex was consensual, others that they were not involved. None of the claims has been tested in court.

The criminal side of the case has shifted. The local district attorney initially concluded the woman had consented and that no crime had been committed. That investigation has since been reopened and handed to New York’s attorney general. Meanwhile, a months-long Title IX investigation at Cornell led to discipline for several of the men. Two were expelled and two were suspended and placed on probation. Two more had to write reflection papers and complete bystander training. A seventh had already graduated and was barred from campus, according to records obtained by The New York Times.

Kotlikoff’s defence and the critics’ case

Before the Cornell no confidence vote, Kotlikoff told senators he wanted to make Cornell a leader on sexual assault and asked for more time. He argued that replacing him would do little to fix complex problems and could damage the university’s reputation. He said he had not read the campus police report because university policy bars senior administrators from interfering in criminal investigations. He rejected the idea that he had been indifferent to her case, though he acknowledged he had only recently learned she had left Cornell. He also said the university must decide whether fraternities can operate safely, and he did not rule out sweeping restrictions on Greek life.

Critics say that is not enough. Some professors are angry that he has not moved harder to strengthen the disciplinary process, push for criminal investigations and change party culture. Paul Ortiz, a labor history professor who co-sponsored the resolution, said hundreds of students, staff, alumni and faculty had approached sponsors to say the Jane Doe case was “but a tip of the iceberg.” He said “a veritable fortress of silence has been breached.”

What comes next

Some faculty argued for patience until an independent review is finished. Cornell hired former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates to examine how it handled the initial report in 2024, as well as its wider procedures for similar complaints. Her findings could carry more weight than a symbolic resolution, whichever way they cut.

Thomas Giuffra, the woman’s attorney, said he hoped the vote would be “another step forward” in addressing “the longstanding scourge of sexual assault on campus.” With the trustees backing Kotlikoff and the legal and investigative processes still unfolding, the Cornell no confidence vote leaves the president in place but under open pressure from his own faculty.

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