Cornell University's Faculty Senate approved a resolution on Friday declaring "no confidence" in the administration's ability to handle what it has called a sexual assault crisis on campus.

The resolution passed 75-50, with five faculty senators abstaining and five others not voting, according to an email sent to Faculty Senate members on Friday afternoon.

What's behind the resolution?

The vote followed weeks of debate among professors over whether Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff and other administrators have done enough to curtail sexual misconduct at the prestigious university.

The university leadership has faced intense criticism since mid-September when a former student, identified only by the pseudonym Jane Doe in court documents, filed a lawsuit against the university and seven former members of the Chi Phi fraternity, saying she was drugged and raped at a fraternity house in October 2024.

All seven men mentioned in the lawsuit have denied her allegations, saying the sex was consensual or that…