Cornell Faculty Senate preps for no confidence vote on president after Jane Doe’s allegations: What to know

The Cornell University Faculty Senate is set to debate a no confidence vote on Wednesday against President Michael Kotlikoff after allegations of a 2024 gang rape at a campus fraternity that resulted in no criminal charges caused uproar around the country. 

The more than 75 members of the body will have their second meeting debating the resolution and the timing of a vote on it. A motion could be introduced to delay the no confidence vote and set another meeting.

But if that motion is not introduced or fails, members of the Faculty Senate will begin the no confidence vote after Wednesday’s meeting is over, and they typically have a week to cast their choice online.

While a no confidence vote has no authority to remove an official, its passing would show deep dissatisfaction from faculty with how Cornell leadership has handled accusations from Jane Doe that seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity raped her.  

What does the no confidence vote entail? 

The resolution, led by Paul Ortiz, a professor of labor history, states the faculty has no confidence in Cornell’s leadership to “address the ongoing crisis of sexual assault” at the school.  

“The faculty co-sponsors of this resolution deliberated at great length on this resolution. As you may suspect, we were approached in our capacity as faculty senators........

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