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Cornell Faculty Senate Votes No Confidence in President Kotlikoff

Resolution passed amid controversy over university's handling of sexual assault allegations.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
The Chi Phi fraternity house at Cornell University in New York. (AP: Heather Ainsworth)

What this story says

  • Cornell University's Faculty Senate approved a resolution of no confidence in President Michael Kotlikoff and the central administration.
  • The vote occurred on Friday, with 55.6% of faculty members voting in favour.
  • The resolution was prompted by a lawsuit filed by a former student alleging sexual assault at a fraternity party in 2024.
  • The Board of Trustees stated they remain confident in President Kotlikoff and his administration.

Who covered it

Left 42%(30)Centre 49%(35)Right 9%(6)

Percentages are shares of the 71 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 3 of the 74 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

60/100

Hype

41/100

74 sources · methodology

Cornell University's Faculty Senate approved a resolution on Friday expressing no confidence in the university's central administration and its president, Michael Kotlikoff. The vote was supported by 55.6% of the 75 faculty members who voted, with 37% voting against and 7.4% abstaining or not voting. This action follows a lawsuit filed by a former student who alleges she was sexually assaulted during a fraternity house party in 2024 and claims the university failed to protect her and adequately punish students.

The Faculty Senate, Cornell's main legislative advisory and review body, does not have the authority to dismiss the president. However, supporters of the resolution argued it sends a strong signal to university leadership and increases pressure on the Board of Trustees, which oversees the president and the university's endowment. The controversy has intensified scrutiny of Kotlikoff, who has called for time to implement reforms, while some faculty and students have called for his resignation. The university has launched an independent review of its response to sexual assault allegations, and the New York Attorney General is overseeing a separate criminal investigation into the 2024 case.

Disagreement on Vote Count

Reports differ on the exact vote count for the resolution. Source 1, a full report from KRDO, states the resolution was approved by a vote of 75 faculty members, with 55.6% in favour, 37% against, and 7.4% abstaining or not voting. Source 2, a full report from ABC Australia, states the resolution passed 75-50, with five faculty senators abstaining and five others not voting. Source 28, a digest from WCAX-TV, also states the resolution passed 75-50, with five faculty senators abstaining and five others not voting.

What the coverage left out

None of the right-rated digests mention the specific vote percentages (55.6% in favour, 37% against, 7.4% abstaining) that were reported by KRDO (Source 1) and ABC Australia (Source 2). Additionally, none of the right-rated digests included direct quotes from the Board of Trustees or the faculty sponsors of the resolution, which were present in the full reports from KRDO and ABC Australia.

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 6 Nov 2026, 22:15, and will add the sides that appear.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

30 rated outlets

  • Left-rated reports focused on the Faculty Senate's vote of no confidence as a direct response to the university's handling of sexual assault allegations. Several digests, including those from La Presse (Source 10) and Orillia Matters (Source 14), highlighted the vote as a denouncement of the management of sexual violence by university leaders. PBS NewsHour (Source 6) noted that while the vote is symbolic, proponents hoped it would pressure the trustees to address institutional failures. ABC Australia (Source 2) reported that the vote followed weeks of debate over whether President Michael Kotlikoff handled the allegations properly and whether enough had been done to curtail sexual misconduct. The lawsuit's details, including allegations of gang rape and the use of ketamine, were also prominent in these reports. Some left-rated reports mentioned the disciplinary actions taken against accused students, such as expulsions and suspensions.

Centre

35 rated outlets

  • Centre-rated reports also centred on the Faculty Senate's no-confidence vote and its connection to the sexual assault lawsuit. KRDO (Source 1), which provided a full report, detailed the vote's specifics, including the percentage breakdown, and quoted statements from the Board of Trustees chair and the faculty sponsors of the resolution. Digests from outlets like CFJC Today Kamloops (Source 11) and Meadow Lake NOW (Source 18) described the vote as a symbolic gesture reflecting deep discontent following the lawsuit. Newsweek (Source 15) noted the vote was non-binding. Several centre-rated reports, including WCAX-TV (Source 28), mentioned the vote count of 75-50 with abstentions. The involvement of the New York Attorney General in a criminal investigation was also noted in some of these reports.

Right

6 rated outlets

  • Right-rated reports focused on the Faculty Senate's no-confidence motion and the lawsuit filed by a former student. Digests from outlets such as BT (Source 5) and The Straits Times (Source 13) stated that a woman has filed a lawsuit accusing Cornell and former students of rape. Jonesboro Sun (Source 16) and Madison Courier (Source 19) reported that the vote followed a former student's lawsuit alleging gang rape at a fraternity house in 2024. Dailymail.com (Source 9) reported that staff at Cornell passed a no-confidence motion against the school's leadership. None of the right-rated digests mentioned the specific vote percentages or quoted statements from the Board of Trustees or faculty sponsors.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Cornell Faculty Senate Votes No Confidence in President Kotlikoff?
Of the 71 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 42% are rated left, 49% are rated centre, 9% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 74. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Cornell Faculty Senate Votes No Confidence in President Kotlikoff left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 71 rated outlets on this story, 42% are rated left, 49% are rated centre, 9% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Cornell Faculty Senate Votes No Confidence in President Kotlikoff biased?
Cornell Faculty Senate Votes No Confidence in President Kotlikoff is one event reported by 74 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which outlets covered Cornell Faculty Senate Votes No Confidence in President Kotlikoff?
74 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What is the Faculty Senate's no-confidence resolution?
Cornell University's Faculty Senate approved a resolution expressing no confidence in President Michael Kotlikoff and the central administration. This symbolic vote, supported by 55.6% of faculty members, reflects discontent over the university's handling of sexual assault allegations.
What prompted the no-confidence vote?
The vote was prompted by a lawsuit filed by a former student alleging she was sexually assaulted at a fraternity house party in 2024. The student claims the university failed to protect her and adequately punish those involved, leading to faculty criticism of the administration's response.
Does the Faculty Senate have the power to remove the president?
No, the Faculty Senate does not have the authority to dismiss the president. The resolution is considered a symbolic gesture intended to pressure the Board of Trustees, which has the ultimate authority over the university's leadership.
What is the university's official response?
The Board of Trustees has stated they remain confident in President Kotlikoff and his administration, believing they are the right leaders to address the issue. The university has also launched an independent review of its response to sexual assault allegations.

Read it at the source

74 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

30
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Centre

35
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Right

6

Not rated

3

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Cornell University no-confidence vote | MediaBias News