For immediate release
Ithaca, NY – Friday, November 6, 2026
Cornell faculty members voted decisively to hold the Cornell central administration accountable for its failure to effectively address the crisis of sexual assault at the University.
The Faculty Senate Resolution of No Confidence in the Cornell Central Administration, sponsored by nearly 200 Cornell faculty members, including 19 Cornell Faculty Senators, passed by a margin of 75 to 50. In the 56 years since the establishment of the Faculty Senate at Cornell, the body has never taken such a significant step to condemn the actions of leadership. The vote represents the voices of faculty from across every department in every school across the University, and is a signal to our students that we stand with them in working toward a Cornell that we can all be proud of.
The vote is an unprecedented opportunity for the University to reckon with the endemic problem of sexual assault by taking bold steps. We renew our call for the resignations of President Michael Kotlikoff, Vice President for Student and Campus Life Ryan Lombardi, and other responsible administrators who have been the source of the faculty’s loss of confidence by mishandling responses to alarming rates of sexual assault. President Kotlikoff and VP Lombardi have failed in their attention to student well-being and accountability. For Cornell to restore good faith and confidence in democratic governance for shaping positive reforms, there must be a change in leadership.
We also call on the Board of Trustees to affirm the Faculty Senate’s vote and thereby comply with its obligation to shared and democratic governance at Cornell. In the October 14th Faculty Senate meeting, President Kotlikoff made his case against the “no confidence” resolution by stating that he has “the support of the trustees.” The next day, the New York Times reported that emeritus trustee and donor John Dyson argued, “The trustees run the university legally and in fact. The faculty think they do, but they don’t, and I’m quite sure the trustees have great confidence in Mike Kotlikoff, he’s a very special, high quality person.” In the name of shared governance and moving forward, the Board of Trustees must acknowledge the accountability of Cornell’s central administration and disavow Dyson’s assertion.
Only in these ways can the University demonstrate that it is serious about remedying past failures, holding leadership responsible, and rebuilding trust.
