Faculty members at Cornell University are pressing ahead with a no-confidence vote in campus leadership over its handling of a gang-rape scandal involving students at a fraternity at the Ivy League institution.
Cornell professors on Wednesday discussed, at an emotional faculty meeting, how the school’s leadership tackled a woman’s report that she was raped by at least seven male students at a fraternity house in 2024.
The Associated Press, which obtained a recording of the closed-door meeting, reported that some faculty urged patience and sought to delay the vote, while others argued that years of institutional failures required more immediate action.
Faculty will vote electronically on a proposed no-confidence resolution in Cornell’s administration through 6 November, a largely symbolic move that at least could put pressure on the university trustees that choose the university’s leadership, the AP said.
Prosecutors in New York said last month they were reopening the case after the woman, a then 20-year-old Cornell student who said she was forced to leave the university after the incident, filed a civil lawsuit naming her alleged attackers.
University leaders faced a backlash, including mass campus protests, when it was revealed that their inquiry into the woman’s original complaint resulted in only two expulsions. Others among the alleged rapists were ordered to write essays, attend workshops, or serve short suspensions as part of their punishment, following the review by Cornell, an elite, private sector university based in Ithaca, in upstate New York.
The woman accusing the men recently wrote a letter to the campus faculty senate saying she felt “unsupported and disbelieved” by Cornell’s president. And in a separate development at the weekend, a New York state judge ruled that she could continue to be identified by the pseudonym Jane Doe in the ongoing lawsuit, citing concerns for her safety.
Earlier this month, Kathy Hochul, the Democratic governor of New York state, appointed the state’s attorney general Letitia James as a special counsel to investigate the case.
At Wednesday’s faculty meeting, some faculty struggled with whether they should speak out publicly, sharing painful experiences of harassment and fears of professional retaliation, the AP said.
Beth Frances Milles, a performing arts professor, Cornell graduate and parent, pleaded for civility after describing receiving messages from women who experienced sexual assault, including former classmates.
“I understand we have to take action,” she said. “There are so many things to talk about. Please, let’s talk about it together and not sneer at each other when we disagree.”
After at least an hour of debate, members voted down an attempt to delay voting on the resolution until an independent investigation into Cornell’s handling of the sexual assault allegations was completed.
The resolution co-sponsor, Anne Marie Brady, said she was encouraged by the breadth of faculty who spoke, despite fears of retaliation. As a contingent faculty member, she said, speaking publicly carried professional risks.
“The more people who speak out, the more we protect each other,” Brady said in a phone interview after the meeting.
Music professor Ariana Kim said she unexpectedly found herself sharing her own experience of sexual harassment and bullying after hearing suggestions that faculty did not do enough to address such misconduct.
She described how the harassment affected her tenure case and how her efforts to get help from administrators, including Cornell’s president, Michael Kotlikoff, when he was provost, went nowhere.
“It’s hard to get up and do that on a number of levels,” Kim said, describing a sense of relief and pride that she had spoken.
During the meeting, economics professor Seth Sanders agreed that sexual assault was a serious problem at Cornell but said faculty did not yet know enough to judge the administration’s response.
He said about 80% of his department opposed the resolution for now, with many awaiting the independent investigation.
“I don’t think setting it up as having confidence in the administration or supporting the administration is right,” Sanders said. “I think it’s legitimate to think that you don’t know whether to have confidence because you don’t know what happened or why in the Jane Doe case.”
Wednesday’s meeting came a day after 20 female science and engineering faculty members called on Kotlikoff to resign in a letter to trustees that was obtained by AP.
The woman in the ongoing case about the fraternity incident claims she was drugged and repeatedly raped in October 2024 at a house belonging to Cornell’s since-closed chapter of the Chi Phi fraternity. All seven of the alleged attackers deny the claims against them.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organizations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
