Following the shocking allegations of a gang rape on campus, Cornell’s faculty introduced a resolution to call for a vote of no confidence against the administration, stating “that the Faculty Senate has no confidence in the ability of the central administration to effectively address the ongoing crisis of sexual assault at Cornell University.”
That resolution passed today, with 56 percent of the Senate voting in favor, 37 percent voting against, and 7 percent abstaining. The results are largely symbolic, but send a strong signal to president Michael Kotlikoff, chair of Cornell’s board of trustees, Anne Smalling, and the administration.
“The Cornell administration takes the faculty senate very seriously, at least as long as they perceive that the faculty senate votes and conversation is truly representative of what the broader faculty truly believes,” Jonathan Burdick, a former Cornell administrator, told T&C. “A vote of no confidence is about the most serious thing that a faculty senate can undertake. It’s clear in Cornell’s charter that the faculty senate does not have authority to remove the president. That authority is always with the board and the board has already expressed c...