Former deputy attorney general Sally Yates will lead a review of Cornell University's handling of sexual misconduct complaints, trustees announced on Tuesday, as the Ivy League school faces outrage over allegations of a 2024 gang rape at a fraternity house.
Scope of the review
Yates, who served in the Obama administration, will examine how Cornell investigates reports of sexual assault and harassment, the disciplinary process, the adequacy of campus police responses, and more, trustees said.
“It is imperative that Cornell be willing to examine itself with the same rigor we expect of others,” trustee chair Anne Meinig Smalling said in a statement.
Background of the allegations
The announcement follows a large demonstration over Cornell's response to a complaint from a woman known publicly as Jane Doe. She told campus police in November 2024 she had been sexually assaulted by multiple Chi Phi fraternity brothers the month before after being pressured into drinking and taking drugs.
No criminal charges have been filed. The Chi Phi chapter at Cornell was shut down, and the university said it expelled some students and suspended others. Yates will also review how the woman's complaint was handled and oversight of fraternities, sororities, and other campus groups.
Legal and institutional response
The woman sued the university, seven former students, the fraternity, and others last month. Lawyers for two former students denied participation in a sexual assault. Court records show that during a Title IX investigation, some accused students contended the activity was consensual.
New York's attorney general is conducting a criminal investigation, and the governor called for an independent review—the one Yates now leads. On Monday, students and professors protested on campus demanding accountability, transparency, and disciplinary overhaul.
Yates' background
Yates had a decades-long justice department career, serving as top federal prosecutor in Atlanta and deputy attorney general. In January 2017, as acting attorney general, she directed attorneys not to defend Trump's refugee and immigration ban and was fired. She also raised alarms about Michael Flynn's contacts with the Russian ambassador.
Now in private practice at King & Spalding, Yates led a 2022 investigation into the National Women's Soccer League that found systemic abuse.
