Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York. It was co-founded by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White in 1865 and has been co-educational and nonsectarian since its founding.

The university is a defendant in a civil lawsuit filed in 2026 by a former student identified as Jane Doe. She alleges that seven students sexually assaulted her at a fraternity house in 2024 and that Cornell failed to protect her and discipline the accused. These claims are allegations; the accused students deny wrongdoing.