Cornell Faculty Senate passes no-confidence vote over Jane Doe case, but board of trustees backs president
✓The Cornell University Faculty Senate on Friday passed a no-confidence vote against the university administration and President Michael Kotlikoff after allegations of gang rape at a campus fraternity roiled the country.
The symbolic vote, which passed with 55 percent support while 7 percent of the body abstained, marks the latest stage in the backlash to how the university handled accusations by Jane Doe in 2024 that she was coerced into consuming drugs and alcohol before being sexually assaulted by seven fellow students at the Chi Phi fraternity.
The vote has no power to remove the president or any administrators, and the board of trustees promptly released a statement backing Kotlikoff.
“Today’s Faculty Senate vote reflects the deep anger across our campus and sends a clear signal that what happened to Jane Doe is unacceptable. There is no place for sexual violence on the Cornell campus. We support President 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,” Anne Smalling, chair of the university’s board of trustees, said in a statement.
“The Board fully supports President Kotlikoff and his administration as they continue to listen and act decisively in support of students,” the statement concludes.
The university has taken several steps to address the issue, including launching an independent review of how it handled Jane Doe’s allegations and making a deal with New York for sexual assault allegations to be handled by state police.
In an interview with The New York Times, Kotlikoff said the university has a fuller picture now of what happened than it did when the allegations were made in 2024.
At the time, the district attorney did not pursue charges, and only two of the seven men accused were expelled from Cornell.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has tapped state Attorney General Letitia James to investigate the matter, with multiple members of the so-called Cornell 7 attempting to get her off the case after James posted a message in support of Jane Doe on social media before she was appointed to the case.
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Read the full story at The Guardian ↗ · The Hill ↗
The Cornell University Faculty Senate on Friday passed a no-confidence vote against the university administration and President Michael Kotlikoff after allegations of gang rape at…
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The Cornell University Faculty Senate on Friday passed a no-confidence vote against the university administration and President Michael Kotlikoff after allegations of gang rape at a campus fraternity roiled the country.
The symbolic vote, which passed with 55 percent support while 7 percent of the body abstained, marks the latest stage in the backlash to how the university handled accusations by Jane Doe in 2024 that she was coerced into consuming drugs and alcohol before being sexually assaulted by seven fellow students at the Chi Phi fraternity.
The vote has no power to remove the president or any administrators, and the board of trustees promptly released a statement backing Kotlikoff.
“Today’s Faculty Senate vote reflects the deep anger across our campus and sends a clear signal that what happened to Jane Doe is unacceptable. There is no place for sexual violence on the Cornell campus. We support President 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,” Anne Smalling, chair of the university’s board of trustees, said in a statement.
“The Board fully supports President Kotlikoff and his administration as they continue to listen and act decisively in support of students,” the statement concludes.
The university has taken several steps to address the issue, including launching an independent review of how it handled Jane Doe’s allegations and making a deal with New York for sexual assault allegations to be handled by state police.
In an interview with The New York Times, Kotlikoff said the university has a fuller picture now of what happened than it did when the allegations were made in 2024.
At the time, the district attorney did not pursue charges, and only two of the seven men accused were expelled from Cornell.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has tapped state Attorney General Letitia James to investigate the matter, with multiple members of the so-called Cornell 7 attempting to get her off the case after James posted a message in support of Jane Doe on social media before she was appointed to the case.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗ · The Hill ↗
The Cornell University Faculty Senate on Friday passed a no-confidence vote against the university administration and President Michael Kotlikoff after allegations of gang rape at a campus fraternity roiled the country.
The symbolic vote, which passed with 55 percent support while 7 percent of the body abstained, marks the latest stage in the backlash to how the university handled accusations by Jane Doe in 2024 that she was coerced into consuming drugs and alcohol before being sexually assaulted by seven fellow students at the Chi Phi fraternity.
The vote has no power to remove the president or any administrators, and the board of trustees promptly released a statement backing Kotlikoff.
“Today’s Faculty Senate vote reflects the deep anger across our campus and sends a clear signal that what happened to Jane Doe is unacceptable. There is no place for sexual violence on the Cornell campus. We support President 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,” Anne Smalling, chair of the university’s board of trustees, said in a statement.
“The Board fully supports President Kotlikoff and his administration as they continue to listen and act decisively in support of students,” the statement concludes.
The university has taken several steps to address the issue, including launching an independent review of how it handled Jane Doe’s allegations and making a deal with New York for sexual assault allegations to be handled by state police.
In an interview with The New York Times, Kotlikoff said the university has a fuller picture now of what happened than it did when the allegations were made in 2024.
At the time, the district attorney did not pursue charges, and only two of the seven men accused were expelled from Cornell.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has tapped state Attorney General Letitia James to investigate the matter, with multiple members of the so-called Cornell 7 attempting to get her off the case after James posted a message in support of Jane Doe on social media before she was appointed to the case.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗ · The Hill ↗
This lens runs the verified story through Cinnamon's AI — wired in the next step.
- The Cornell University Faculty Senate on Friday passed a no-confidence vote against the university administration and President Michael Kotlikoff after allegations of gang rape at…