Bryant University revokes honorary degree to Bill Cosby

Drexel University has announced they are revoking an honorary degree given to Bill Cosby.

He said in a letter Thursday to the Drexel community that universities are “critical arenas” in addressing sexual violence and Drexel takes that responsibility seriously.

“While the allegations against Mr. Cosby are deeply troubling, it is not our practice to rescind honorary degrees”, Vice President for University Communications Steve MacCarthy said in a statement last week.

Last year, 72-year-old former secretary, Kristina Ruehli, accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault. After further study and deliberation, the Bryant University Board of Trustees determined that the egregious conduct that Mr. Cosby has acknowledged in a public deposition is inconsistent with the character, values, and behavior that we expect of an honorary degree holder.

Drexel University in Philadelphia on Thursday also rescinded an honorary degree to Cosby, joining several schools that have similarly yanked honors to him.

The University of Pennsylvania has opted not to act on Cosby, who has been accused of drugging and sexually assaulting dozens of females over decades, including an alleged incident at the Penn Relays in 2004.

In July, Spelman College discontinued its endowed professorship with Cosby, again citing his testimony.

And Cosby gave a deposition this October in a California civil suit brought by awoman alleging he sexually assaulted her at the Playboy mansion in the 1970s when she was just 15 years old.

Cosby, who played Dr. Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show from 1984 to 1992 and has been married for decades, denies the women’s accusations and has not been criminally charged.

In her lawsuit, she says Cosby’s then-lawyer responded to the accusation by issuing a “false and defamatory statement” in which he called her and Cosby’s other accusers liars.