Cornell University’s academic staff have passed a vote of no confidence over its leadership’s handling of what staff call a “crisis of sexual assault” after a former student alleged she was gang raped while attending.
The woman, known anonymously as Jane Doe, is suing her former university and the fraternity over an alleged incident involving several men at the Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024.
All seven of the accused have denied wrongdoing when contacted by the BBC’s US partner CBS. None has been charged with a crime.
Friday’s no-confidence vote passed by 75 votes to 50. It is largely symbolic because the faculty senate does not have the power to remove leaders.
The resolution states that the faculty senate, which represents academic staff, “has no confidence in the ability of the central administration to effectively address the ongoing crisis of sexual assault at Cornell University”.
It did not make any specific recommendations or suggest what administrators did wrong in response to the accusation.
It is a rebuke of university leaders including President Michael Kotlikoff, whom Doe has accused of asking why she waited several weeks to report the incident.
The Ivy League institution in upstate New York has said her account of Kotlikoff’s reaction is “incorrect”.
Doe’s lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, responded to the vote’s outcome in a statement, saying: “We recently learned that Cornell’s Faculty Senate made a finding of no confidence in the Central Administration’s ability to address the longstanding crisis of sexual assault at Cornell.
“We believe that the Faculty Senate did not reach this decision lightly and considered all available information.”
Giuffra added: “We are hopeful that this will be yet another step forward to educate and support the Cornell community by addressing the longstanding scourge of sexual assault on campus.”
The board of trustees, which does have the power to fire Kotlikoff, said in a statement that it “remains confident” that he and his administration “are the right leaders to thoughtfully and comprehensively address the serious problem of sexual assault on our campus”.
Trustees board chairwoman Anne Meinig Smalling, added: “This confidence is rooted not only in the administration’s actions to date and plans moving forward, but also in its track record of navigating complex problems.”
She also said that the vote of no confidence “reflects the deep anger across our campus and sends a clear signal that what happened to Jane Doe is unacceptable”.
Backlash against Cornell has been intense since Doe filed her lawsuit in September. She reported the alleged assault to campus police after it happened but the local prosecutor declined to bring charges at the time.
Cornell, after initially defending its disciplinary measures, has acknowledged it fell short in its handling of her case and has hired a former attorney general to conduct an independent review of the case. It also recently announced a series of measures due assault, including cancelling fraternity parties.
New York state prosecutors, led by Attorney General Letitia James, are carrying out their own investigation to decide if criminal charges are warranted.
Earlier this week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that state police would investigate any future sexual offence complaints at the university.
