Cornell's board hired Sally Yates to review the university's response to the Chi Phi allegations.

A board review is not a criminal case. Cornell said Tuesday that Yates will report to trustees, not to a jury, and that she will look at whether the university followed its own rules. Attorney General Letitia James is already the special prosecutor on the criminal investigation. Those are separate tracks. Neither one is a verdict, and Fox News reported that no criminal charges have been filed against the seven men named in the civil lawsuit.

Cornell University said Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, that a newly formed special committee of the Board of Trustees retained Sally Q. Yates, a partner at King & Spalding, to lead an independent review of how the university prevents and responds to sexual harassment, sexual assault, and related misconduct. The university said the review will cover how reports are received and investigated, how students are supported, how hearings, discipline, and appeals are handled, how campus police respond, how the school coordinates with other law enforcement and prosecutors, and how it oversees fraternities, sororities, and other student organizations. It said the review will also look at the board's own oversight. As part of that assignment, Cornell said, Yates and her team will review the university's response to the allegations involving Jane Doe and members of the Chi Phi fraternity in October 2024, including whether Cornell followed its policies and procedures. A campus review asks whether the institution did what its rules required. It does not file a charge.

Anne Meinig Smalling, chair of the special committee, said in the university's statement, "Sally Yates brings extraordinary experience, independence and judgment to this work," and, "The questions raised by the Jane Doe matter warrant a rigorous examination of Cornell's response to that case, but our responsibility is broader." She said the committee asked Yates to examine the overall approach, identify what is working and what is not, and recommend changes. Smalling also said, "It is imperative that Cornell be willing to examine itself with the same rigor we expect of others." Cornell said Yates and the firm will have full independence, will report findings and recommendations to the special committee, and will get access to policies, records, case files, personnel, and leadership, consistent with law and privacy requirements. The university said the review will measure its practices against Title IX, the Clery Act, the Campus SaVE Act, New York law, and recognized campus practices. It said Yates is a former acting attorney general and deputy attorney general, and that she previously led U.S. Soccer's independent investigation into allegations of abusive behavior and sexual misconduct in women's professional soccer. The board said it intends to share the results with the Cornell community. An intention to publish a report is not a finding.

NPR reported Tuesday that the announcement comes after a former student, identified in a civil lawsuit as Jane Doe, alleged that seven men drugged and gang raped her in October 2024 at the Chi Phi fraternity house, and that she also alleged failings in how the school handled her complaint. NPR reported that those named in the lawsuit have denied all wrongdoing and that no criminal charges were filed. Fox News reported that some of the men have said the sexual activity was consensual and that others have denied participating, and that no criminal charges have been filed against the seven. NPR reported that the university has maintained that Cornell police investigated the case and that a Title IX investigation ended in suspensions and expulsions. Campus discipline is a school process. It is not a criminal conviction. NPR reported that students have protested the university's response and that Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed Attorney General Letitia James to lead the criminal investigation after criticism of campus police and of Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten. James's investigation is the criminal track. Yates's review is the university's. Neither replaces the other, and a lawsuit's allegations are not charges. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.