By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-10-07 03:57:10 | Updated at 2026-10-07 04:30:37
48 minutes ago
A special committee of the Cornell University Board of Trustees revealed Tuesday that it has tapped former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates to spearhead an independent review of the university’s policies around sexual assault and related misconduct.
The announcement notes that Yates, a partner at King & Spalding LLP, and her team will report directly to the committee.
Yates—an Obama appointee to the Justice Department post in 2015—will probe how reports are received and investigated. She will also look into how the university supports students, as well as how the university handles hearings, discipline, and appeals.
Yates will also review how Cornell responded to allegations made by Jane Doe against members of the Chi Phi fraternity in October 2024. Among the questions Yates will investigate is whether the university followed its own policies.
The review will measure practices against Title IX, the Clery Act, the Violence Against Women Act’s Campus SaVE Act, New York law, and recognized higher-education practices.
The committee asked that the work be done “as expeditiously and thoroughly as possible,” though no deadline was given.
“Sally Yates brings extraordinary experience, independence and judgment to this work,” said Anne Meinig Smalling, chair of the board and of the special committee.
“The questions raised by the Jane Doe matter warrant a rigorous examination of Cornell’s response to that case, but our responsibility is broader.”
The appointment comes after a week of public pressure. On Oct. 4, the victim’s lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, said the woman known as Jane Doe had been
threatened.
“There are people out there trying to track her down. They have tracked down the wrong women, at least three of the wrong women that I have heard about,” Giuffra said during an appearance on CNN.
“They said: ‘We’re going to shut you up. You’re going to ... get hurt by us. You’re going to pull this lawsuit out, or we’re going to do something to hurt you even more.’ She’s received multiple threats, and women who aren’t even Jane Doe have received threats about what they’re going to do to her,” he said.
Attorney General Letitia James said Oct. 2 that her office had
launchedits own criminal investigation into the incident.
“This is now an active criminal investigation led by the office of the attorney general,” she said at a briefing with Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Hochul had signed an executive order Oct. 1 naming James special prosecutor and
removingTompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten from the case.
Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff said over that weekend that the school would implement reforms.
“What happened to Jane Doe in 2024 is deeply disturbing and will weigh heavily on our community for years to come,” he said in a video statement.
A complaint filed Sept. 16 alleges a former Cornell student was drugged and sexually assaulted by seven men at the Chi Phi house in October 2024.
The suit says the assault ran from the night of Oct. 19 into the morning of Oct. 20.
“When Plaintiff arrived at XI CHAPTER’s fraternity house, Plaintiff was visibly intoxicated as she had consumed about 10 standard drinks within the past 3 hours,” the lawsuit states.
He also said Doe’s initial statement to campus police “described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary, conscious, and consensual.”
No criminal charges were filed after that first report.
Cornell has said an internal investigation led to expulsions, suspensions, and the barring of the on-campus Chi Phi chapter.
“Any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false,” the university said.
