ITHACA, NY (607NewsNow) – The Cornell Faculty Senate has passed a resolution expressing no confidence in the university’s president and central administration.

Nearly 56% of the shared governance body voted in favor of the resolution, while 37% voted against it and 7.4% abstained from voting.

The group, which consists of 135 senators representing over 3,000 faculty members, not including Weill Cornell Medicine, began considering the no-confidence vote last month in response to the alleged group sex assault of a former student at the Chi Phi fraternity house in 2024.

On Nov. 6, the Cornell Board of Trustees released the following statement:

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.

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. This confidence is rooted not only in the administration’s actions to date and plans moving forward but also in its track record of navigating complex problems, as it did in restoring federal funding, preserving free speech, and leading the university through COVID.

 

President Kotlikoff and his team have a plan that is focused on strengthening student safety, improving support for survivors, and addressing aspects of our campus culture that must change. 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.

The independent review of the university’s policies and practices led by former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates will identify what more needs to be fixed. We are committed to sharing the review’s results and recommendations, reflecting on them as a community, and addressing shortcomings identified.

 

The board fully supports President Kotlikoff and his administration as they continue to listen and act decisively in support of students.

Sincerely,

 

Anne Meinig Smalling ’87

Chair of the Cornell University Board of Trustees