Cornell University’s Special Committee of the Board of Trustees retained Sally Yates to lead an independent review of how the university prevents and responds to sexual harassment, sexual assault and related misconduct. The review will examine Cornell’s handling of reports, investigations, hearings, discipline and campus police, and it includes the Jane Doe allegations involving members of Chi Phi in October 2024.
Anne Meinig Smalling, who chairs the Special Committee, said, "Sally Yates brings extraordinary experience, independence and judgment to this work." She also said, "The questions raised by the Jane Doe matter warrant a rigorous examination of Cornell’s response to that case, but our responsibility is broader."
Yates And King
Yates is a partner at King & Spalding LLP and a former Acting Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General of the United States. Cornell said she and the law firm will have full independence in conducting the review, and they will report findings and recommendations directly to the Special Committee.
The review is set to cover how Cornell receives and investigates reports, how students are supported, how hearings and disciplinary decisions are handled, and how appeals move through the process. It also will examine the role, processes and response of campus police, coordination with other law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, campus safety reporting, and oversight of fraternities, sororities and other student organizations.
Title IX And New York State law
The Special Committee said the review will assess Cornell’s practices against Title IX, the Clery Act, the Violence Against Women Act’s Campus SaVE Act and New York State law. That gives the inquiry a standard to compare Cornell’s procedures against, rather than treating the review as a narrow look at one complaint.
Smalling said, "We have asked Ms. Yates and her team to examine Cornell’s overall approach to preventing and responding to sexual misconduct, identify where we are doing things well and where we can do better, and recommend changes that will help make our community safer." She added, "It is imperative that Cornell be willing to examine itself with the same rigor we expect of others."
Jane Doe and Chi Phi
The review will include a detailed look at Cornell’s response to the allegations involving Jane Doe and members of Chi Phi in October 2024, and it will assess whether the university followed its policies and procedures in that matter. The University will provide the investigative team access to relevant policies, records, case files, personnel and leadership, consistent with applicable law and privacy requirements.
Smalling said, "We want to understand not just what happened in 2024, but how Cornell can become a leader in preventing sexual violence, supporting those who come forward and responding to allegations rigorously, fairly and compassionately." The result of the review will turn on what Yates and King & Spalding find inside Cornell’s process, not just on the October case alone.
