Cornell University’s Faculty Senate has voted no confidence in the administration’s ability to address sexual assault, escalating pressure on President Michael Kotlikoff over the university’s handling of the case widely known as the Cornell Seven.
The resolution passed 75-50 in results announced Friday, Nov. 6, following weeks of debate. Five senators abstained and five did not vote.
The action drew an immediate response from the Board of Trustees, which reaffirmed its support for Kotlikoff and his administration. Cornell’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors renewed its call for leadership changes.
The nonbinding vote does not remove administrators or explicitly demand their resignations. It formally records the Faculty Senate’s lack of confidence as Cornell faces a criminal investigation, an independent institutional review and continuing demands for accountability.
Faculty challenges administration’s response
The resolution published by Cornell’s Office of the Dean of Faculty addresses the central administration’s ability to respond to what it calls the “ongoing crisis of sexual assault at Cornell University.”
Senators debated the proposal Oct. 14 and Oct. 28 before voting electronically.
The controversy intensified after a former student, identified in court papers as Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit in September alleging that fraternity members drugged and sexually assaulted her at the Chi Phi house in October 2024. She also accused Cornell of mishandling its response.
The seven men at the center of the allegations have denied wrongdoing, saying sexual activity was consensual or that they were not involved, according to The Associated Press’s reporting on the vote.
As FingerLakes1 previously reported, the case includes a local connection: Canandaigua resident Scott Norris was among the seven men named. Through his attorney, Norris denied participating in sexual activity or drug use.
Cornell says its internal investigation produced sanctions including expulsions and suspensions. Those disciplinary proceedings are separate from the civil lawsuit and criminal investigation.
Trustees support president as faculty group seeks resignations
Board Chair Anne Smalling acknowledged campus anger in the trustees’ response to the vote, while maintaining that Kotlikoff and his team should lead the university’s response.
Smalling cited plans to improve student safety, survivor support and campus culture. She pointed to additional staffing in Cornell’s Office of Civil Rights, expanded in-person prevention education and more victim advocates.
The Cornell AAUP chapter’s statement took a different position, renewing calls for the resignations of Kotlikoff, Vice President for Student and Campus Life Ryan Lombardi and other administrators it holds responsible.
The chapter argued that changing leadership is necessary to rebuild trust and urged trustees to affirm the Faculty Senate’s vote.
Faculty sponsors also described plans for further action. At a Friday news conference, resolution sponsor Paul Ortiz said faculty members were developing a project to collect accounts from survivors of sexual violence in the Cornell and Ithaca communities, The Cornell Daily Sun reported.
Criminal investigation gains new leadership
The faculty vote came two days after Attorney General Letitia James appointed former federal prosecutor Jacqueline Kelly to lead the criminal investigation.
As FingerLakes1 reported Nov. 4, Kelly will oversee attorneys and staff from the attorney general’s office and Boies Schiller Flexner, where she is a partner.
Kelly is a Cornell graduate and former chief of the Civil Rights Unit in the Criminal Division of the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York.
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- Cornell Seven update: Jane Doe tells faculty she felt unsupported by president ahead of vote
The attorney general’s announcement said her team will review investigative records, gather evidence, interview witnesses and examine applicable law.
Gov. Kathy Hochul designated the attorney general’s office as special prosecutor Oct. 1. That authority includes presenting evidence to a grand jury and prosecuting offenses if warranted.
Kelly’s appointment did not announce a charging decision.
Independent review will examine institutional failures
Separately, former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates is leading an independent review commissioned by a special committee of Cornell’s trustees.
The review covers Cornell’s handling of Doe’s allegations and its broader prevention, reporting, investigation, disciplinary and survivor-support practices. It also includes campus policing, fraternity oversight and the board’s own oversight responsibilities.
Cornell says the review team will report to the special committee, and trustees intend to share its results and recommendations with the university community.
The university has also announced changes to campus safety and reporting procedures, including suspending Interfraternity Council social events and allowing survivors pursuing criminal charges to choose State Police or Cornell Police as their investigating agency.
The no-confidence vote leaves those reforms under the leadership of an administration backed by trustees but formally challenged by the Faculty Senate.
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