Cornell University’s president was met with scrutiny and sharp questions from its faculty senate on Wednesday, when the group convened to discuss a no-confidence vote over the university’s handling of an alleged 2024 sexual assault at a fraternity house, according to an audio recording obtained by NBC News.
Discussion of a no-confidence vote comes after serious concerns were raised by students and staff over how the university responded to the allegations.
University President Michael Kotlikoff defended himself and Cornell’s administration as he took a series of pointed questions from the school staff.
At the meeting, most speakers were heard identifying themselves before speaking. Risa Lieberwitz, a professor of labor and employment law, said the issue of sexual assault “is a systemic problem. It deserves systemic attention.”
She told Kotlikoff that thus far it appeared he had “simply reacted to pressure.”
“It feels that the administration is considering more about how do we respond to pressure rather than the kind of leadership, which should have been doing systemic work and prioritizing these issues all along,” she said.
Kotlikoff argued that replacing its leadership was not the solution.
“We need to be able to work together to be able to change the culture, educate our students, and try and address this problem,” he said at the meeting. “I want Cornell to be a leader in this area, and we have plans to really invest in this area. But the idea that you can somehow, because an event has occurred, eliminate it immediately — it’s just unrealistic.”
Last month, a former student identified as Jane Doe sued the university and seven current and former students in connection with her allegation of sexual assault.
In 2024, Cornell shut down the Chi Phi fraternity chapter at the university and expelled two students after Doe reported the incident. Others were suspended or faced lesser disciplinary action. The university also said it launched the Presidential Task Force on Campus Sexual Assault shortly after the incident and implemented recommendations to address sexual assault on campus.
No criminal charges were brought at the time, and the investigation has been reopened following Jane Doe’s lawsuit. Four of the men, through their attorneys, have denied coercing Jane Doe with drugs or sexually assaulting her. NBC News was not able to reach the other three men named in the lawsuit.
While the faculty senate does not have the authority to remove the president, the move would greatly increase the pressure on Cornell and its administration.
Darlene Evans, a senior lecturer emerita, asked Kotlikoff why he was only taking steps now “towards serious systemic change” when he had been in leadership roles at the university for more than a decade.
Evans noted that more than 35% of female undergraduates surveyed at Cornell University reported experiencing nonconsensual sexual contact involving physical force, threats of force or incapacitation, according to a Cornell University poll conducted last year, a figure that was up from 23% in 2023.
“It wasn’t until a no-confidence vote was introduced that Cornell’s administration announced any real steps to prevent sexual assault on this campus, or to seriously support survivors,” she said. “So saying what we’re going to do now kind of rings hollow here. Why haven’t you taken these things more seriously until now, when there’s a firestorm of press looking at Cornell?”
Kotlikoff announced on Tuesday that all parties at fraternity houses and events would be banned through the rest of the academic year.
“We don’t have full ability to be confident that what goes on in those houses is safe and so for the time being we will stop that activity,” he said during the meeting on Wednesday.
He also addressed calls from some over whether Greek life at the university should be banned altogether.
“If at the end of the day, fraternities cannot exist in a safe environment, and we can’t be convinced that they can be safe, then we should make that decision,” he said. “But we should make it based on data and study and expertise, not on emotion.”
After a question-and-answer session, the faculty senate began debating the no-confidence resolution, with another meeting scheduled for later this month. Many spoke in favor of the resolution, while others wanted to delay the vote until the results of an upcoming independent investigation.
Earlier this month, the university announced that Sally Yates, the former deputy U.S. attorney general and acting U.S. attorney general, would lead an independent review on how Cornell University responded to the allegations and, more broadly, how it responds to sexual harassment, assault and misconduct on campus.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is also investigating the allegation. A spokesperson said staff members from the attorney general’s office have “spoken with the Tompkins County District Attorney, Jane Doe’s attorney, and several candidates for outside counsel to support the investigation.”
After the meeting, music professor Ariana Kim said she was “really inspired by everyone who spoke and was brave in favor of the resolution — it takes a lot to stand up in front of the president and ask direct questions of him.”
Kim said she has received some 200 emails from alumni saying they support the no-confidence resolution and want the administration to be held accountable.
The professor said some at the meeting held up signs that read, “I stand with Jane Doe,” “How many more?” and “We demand accountability.”
“Some people broke down and held each other after the meeting,” she said.
Political history professor Richard Bensel said that so far the central administration “has not responded in a way that is going to diminish faculty and students’ despair over the way that the university has treated the issue.”
Bensel said he was unsure if he wanted the president to resign, but said he thought university leadership “will not reform itself without passage of the no-confidence resolution.”
“I can imagine a way the trustees through the president can reconcile their relations with the Cornell community but that requires a real change in governance style and I don’t think that is possible under this administration,” he said. “There are real problems in the way the university is run.”