Crimeupdated 23m ago2 min read
Archive photo · 25 May 2024Cornell Faculty Senate Passes 75-50 No-Confidence Resolution Against Michael Kotlikoff
“Cornell University's faculty is voting on a no-confidence resolution, condemning the school's administration handling of an alleged gang rape.”
“It passed by a vote of 75-50, with five abstentions and five members not voting, according to a copy of the results obtained by The New York Times.”
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Cornell Faculty Senate passed a non-binding no-confidence resolution against university leadership. The vote was 75 in favor, 50 against, with five abstentions.
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Faculty Rebuke Over Case
Cornell University’s Faculty Senate approved a resolution Friday declaring “no confidence” in the school’s top leaders after a former student’s lawsuit said she was gang raped at a fraternity party in 2024. The resolution passed 75-50, with five faculty senators abstaining and five others not voting, according to an email sent to Faculty Senate members on Friday afternoon.
The vote followed weeks of debate among professors over whether Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff and other administrators handled the woman’s allegations properly and whether they had done enough to curtail sexual misconduct at the university. The South China Morning Post described the vote as a non binding but symbolic rebuke of administrators at the Ivy League school in New York state, after a lawsuit alleged a female student was assaulted by seven male students at a fraternity house on campus.
Voices, Denials, and Process
Cornell’s board of trustees chair Anne Smalling said in a statement the faculty vote “reflects the deep anger across our campus” and sent a clear signal that what happened to the woman was unacceptable. Thomas Giuffra, an attorney for the woman who filed the lawsuit, said in a statement Friday that “we are hopeful that this will be yet another step forward to educate and support the Cornell community.”
The lawsuit described the woman as having been given ketamine and raped at a fraternity house in October 2024, and the accused men denied the allegations, saying the sex was consensual or that they were not involved. Cornell disciplined several of the accused students after a months long Title IX investigation, and the local district attorney initially decided the woman had consented before the investigation was reopened and handed to New York’s attorney general.
What Comes Next
Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff defended his leadership by arguing that replacing him would do little to solve complex problems and could damage Cornell’s reputation, while he acknowledged he had not read the campus police report because university policy barred top administrators from interfering in criminal investigations.
Kotlikoff said the university needed to determine whether fraternities could operate safely and left open the possibility of sweeping restrictions on Greek life, as faculty debate continued over whether to wait for an independent investigation by former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates.
Iris Packman, a co sponsor of the no confidence resolution, said Friday that the vote was “only the beginning” and that faculty would push for sweeping reforms.
The resolution did not call for Kotlikoff’s resignation, and the board of trustees said it “continued to support him” while it urged that he and his administration address the serious problem of sexual assault on campus.