Cornell Faculty Senate's no-confidence vote in school's administration to begin today

Cornell University's Faculty Senate is meeting Wednesday afternoon to begin voting on a resolution of no confidence in the school's administration.   

It will be the second meeting the Faculty Senate is having to debate the no-confidence resolution, and its first opportunity to cast a vote on the matter. The meeting is closed to the public. 

Following the meeting, anonymous electronic voting on the no-confidence resolution will be open and will take place through Nov. 6. Though largely a symbolic vote, it may sway the school's trustees to change leadership. 

This comes after a former student sued, claiming she was drugged and raped by several men during a fraternity party in 2024.   

The first meeting about whether the university's administration can effectively address sexual assault at the school was held two weeks ago. Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff was present at that meeting and was joined by other members of the university's administration. 

Kotlikoff told those in attendance that Cornell should study whether fraternities can continue to exist at the school "in a safe environment," adding that if "we can't be convinced that they can be safe, then we should make that decision" to ban them. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul went on to appoint New York Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor to look into the case. Cornell hired Sally Yates to lead an independent investigation into its response to the woman's claims. Cornell has gone on to suspend parties and social events at fraternity houses for the rest of the academic year. 

Cornell's Title IX investigation that followed Doe's allegations at the time found two men responsible for sexual assault. They were expelled. All seven men named in Doe's lawsuit have denied the allegations against them.