Overview
- Faculty senators opened an anonymous electronic vote on Wednesday that will remain open through Nov. 6 to record a symbolic no-confidence resolution against the central administration.
- The vote follows heated debate on Oct. 14 in which professors accused President Michael Kotlikoff of mishandling a 2024 allegation that a student known as Jane Doe was drugged and sexually assaulted at the Chi Phi house.
- Jane Doe filed a civil lawsuit this month that released transcripts and other materials that renewed scrutiny of Cornell’s 2025 Title IX process and what the university shared with prosecutors.
- Tompkins County prosecutors initially declined to press charges in 2024 but reopened the inquiry after the new disclosures and Governor Kathy Hochul named Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor to oversee the criminal review.
- Cornell has imposed an academic-year ban on fraternity parties, hired Sally Q. Yates to lead an external review, added survivor support staff, and President Kotlikoff has acknowledged missteps while asking for time to implement reforms.