According to the Associated Press, the resolution passed 75-50, with five abstentions and five senators not voting. It declares 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.” The vote is symbolic and does not require university leaders to resign.
The resolution was sponsored by faculty senator Paul Ortiz and 11 co-sponsors. In their explanation, posted by Cornell’s Office of the Dean of Faculty, the sponsors said students, alumni and colleagues had approached them with concerns about campus sexual violence and the university’s response. They cited a 2025 campus survey that found 35% of undergraduate women and 52% of women involved in Greek life had experienced sexual assault at Cornell.
The vote follows a September lawsuit filed by a former student identified as Jane Doe, who accused seven former members of Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity of sexually assaulting her at the fraternity house on Oct. 19, 2024. According to the civil complaint, Doe was pressured to consume ketamine and was sexually assaulted by fraternity members. The seven men have denied the allegations, according to the Associated Press.
The case also has raised questions about Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff’s response to Doe. In an Oct. 14 letter to faculty leaders, first reported by The New York Times, Doe said she felt “unsupported and disbelieved” after a sorority leader relayed that Kotlikoff had questioned why she waited to report the assault. Cornell disputed that account, saying Kotlikoff was asking why bystanders had not reported the allegations through the university’s anonymous tip line.
The criminal investigation initially ended without charges. In a Sept. 28 statement, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said Doe’s November 2024 statement to police described drug use and sexual activity as voluntary and consensual. After reviewing the civil lawsuit’s allegations, Van Houten reopened the investigation and referred it to New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Cornell says it conducted a separate Title IX investigation and imposed disciplinary sanctions, including expulsions and suspensions. The university also closed the Chi Phi chapter, which remains barred from campus. The university has hired former Deputy U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates to independently review its handling of the case and its broader sexual misconduct policies.
