Cornell taps former deputy AG Sally Yates to lead independent review

Cornell University announced on Tuesday that former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates has been retained to lead a "comprehensive independent review" into how the school "prevents and responds to sexual harassment, sexual assault and related misconduct on campus" amid allegations of a fraternity house gang rape.

"Sally Yates brings extraordinary experience, independence and judgment to this work," Anne Meinig Smalling, chair of the Special Committee, said in the statement.

Yates will also "conduct a detailed review of the University’s response" to that incident, "including whether Cornell followed its policies and procedures in responding to the matter," the announcement 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," 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."

The review, according to the Special Committee's statement, will assess Cornell's practices against applicable requirements under Title IX, the Clery Act, the Violence Against Women Act's Campus SaVE Act and New York State law, as well as recognized best practices in higher education for preventing and responding to sexual misconduct.

“It is imperative that Cornell be willing to examine itself with the same rigor we expect of others," 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."

Jane Doe originally made a complaint to campus police in November 2024, three weeks after the alleged incident occurred.

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Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said he reviewed the six-page Cornell Police Department's summary of the woman's statement that same month and decided based on that information that although the conduct in the case was "morally disturbing," it did not constitute a crime.

Van Houten reopened the case on Sept. 27 after speaking with Jane Doe and her lawyer in the wake of a civil suit being filed alleging that she had been drugged and raped. The men named in the lawsuit have denied all wrongdoing and have not been criminally charged.