Cornell Faculty Senate to begin no-confidence vote over gang rape allegation response

Faculty members at Cornell University will gather Wednesday to finish a debate and vote on a proposed no-confidence resolution against university leadership over its response to a woman who reported she was gang raped at a university frat house in 2024.

Wednesday’s vote comes after a closed-door Oct. 14 Faculty Senate meeting, where angry members confronted Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff about the school’s handling of the allegations.

The meeting was closed to the press, but an audio recording was obtained by The Associated Press, in which you can hear Kotlikoff acknowledging missteps but defending his leadership.

Kotlikoff urged faculty members to have confidence in his leadership, warning that replacing him could harm the university’s reputation.

Asked by a faculty member whether he read the Cornell Police Department’s report on the rape allegations, Kotlikoff acknowledged he had not. “I really reject the idea that I had no interest in it or was not concerned about it,” Kotlikoff said.

A woman identified in court documents by the pseudonym Jane Doe filed a lawsuit last month alleging that seven fraternity members sexually assaulted her in October 2024 and alleging that Cornell University mishandled her complaints at the time.

All seven men have denied her allegations.

The criminal investigation by Cornell’s police department stalled after the district attorney declined to pursue charges.

In a New York Times interview, Kotlikoff admitted he never followed up to learn what had happened to the woman or seek to learn whether any of the accused men had been punished.

He also wasn’t aware Jane Doe had dropped out of Cornell until the lawsuit was filed.

Wednesday’s meeting is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. and will be closed to the public and media. Electronic voting will open afterward and remain open through Nov. 6. Individual votes will be anonymous.

A no-confidence vote by the faculty would be largely symbolic, but could send a message to the university’s trustees, who ultimately decide who leads it.

Kotlikoff became the university’s interim president in July 2024 and took the job permanently last year.