USF rescinds Bill Cosby’s honorary degree

Brown becomes the third U.S. university in the past week to revoke honorary degrees to Cosby, best known for his role as Cliff Huxtable on “The Cosby Show”, which was wildly popular in the 1980s. And the comedian has never been charged with any crimes related to sexual misconduct. He told Martin, “somebody said once “the bigger they are, the harder they fall” and Bill was big and Bill is Black…”

Marquette, Fordham, and Brown University have stripped Bill Cosby of his honorary doctorate degrees as a result of the allegations that he drugged and raped almost 50 women over the course of the last 30 years.

Across campus, discussion about whether the university should rescind the honorary degree has coincided with an important discussion on the broader topic of sexual assault and consent. Cosby, 77, is facing sexual assault accusations from at least 15 women, with a few of the claims dating back decades.

The school president said such degrees are revoked if the recipient’s conduct “is grossly inconsistent with the values of Brown” and “run counter to or undermine the accomplishments that were cited as the basis for awarding the honorary degree”. “The conduct that Mr. Cosby has acknowledged is wholly inconsistent with the behavior we expect of any individual associated with Brown”.

Other universities severing ties with the entertainer include Spelman College, which ended a Cosby professorship in July, despite Bill Cosby and his wife Camille’s history of donating $20 million to the school. “We strive to take actions that are consistent with the Vision, Mission, and Values statement of the University of San Francisco in these and all endeavors”.

A Cosby spokesman declined to comment on Brown’s move but on Friday, the actor’s lawyer said Fordham had overstated the case made by the deposition. “The statement grossly mischaracterizes both Mr. Cosby’s actions and his deposition testimony, in language more befitting a tabloid journal rather than a respected institution of higher learning”, Schmitt wrote.