BUZZ
Cornell University leaders have rejected a recent Faculty Senate vote of no confidence in the administration’s handling of claims of sexual assault at the Ivy League institution.
The resolution had stated 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.” It passed Nov. 6 with 75 yes votes, 50 no votes, and five abstentions, the dean of faculty’s website reports.
In response, a Nov. 6 memo from Cornell leadership pointed out the Faculty Senate is a shared governance body of 135 senators that represents a faculty comprised of 3,025 members.
The same memo, a copy of which was obtained by The College Fix, included a response from Board of Trustees Chair Anne Smalling stating trustees support President Michael Kotlikoff’s “commitment to taking all necessary steps to ensure students are safe on campus and working together as a community to help prevent this from happening again.”
“The Board of Trustees remains confident that President Kotlikoff and his administration are the right leaders to thoughtfully and comprehensively address the serious problem of sexual assault on our campus,” it states.
“They have already taken several important steps to this end, including adding staff to the Cornell Office of Civil Rights, expanding in-person sexual assault prevention education, and hiring more victim advocates. The administration will continue to build on that progress with more initiatives to be launched in the weeks and months ahead,” it adds.
Smalling also cited an independent review underway of university policies led by a former U.S. deputy attorney general to “identify what more needs to be fixed.”
Cornell is reeling from a lawsuit filed in September claiming a female student was plied with drugs and gang raped at a frat house in 2024. The seven men accused in the lawsuit have denied any criminal wrongdoing.
In text messages sent shortly after the incident, plaintiff Jane Doe initially described the encounter as a “gangbang,” wrote that “none of the sexual stuff was illegal,” and expressed that she had made her own choices, texting: “our body, our choice.”
A few weeks later, she told campus officials she was incapacitated and coerced and believes she was raped.
MORE: Cornell lawsuit sparks debate on consent for both accuser and accused
