Another hit for Cosby: Fordham rescinds honorary degree

Laura Sanicola | Fordham University

For the first time in its history, Fordham University has rescinded an honorary degree.

The degree's recipient? Bill Cosby.

An email forwarded to USA TODAY College from the Office of the President, Fr. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., which had gone out to the Fordham community, said that the university's Board of Trustees unanimously voted on a motion to revoke Cosby's 2001 honorary doctor of fine arts. McShane had filed the initial motion for the revocation.

The decision comes as high-profile sexual assault allegations made against Cosby continue to get national attention. More than 40 women have claimed to be victims of the star's sexual misconduct.

At the time he received the degree, the email read, "there was no public awareness of the allegations of rape against him."

The actor and comedian had delivered the 2001 commencement speech to students at Fordham College at Rose Hill, the oldest and largest of the New York-based university's 10 colleges.

Also according to the email, "By his own admission, Mr. Cosby’s sexual exploitation of women was premeditated and ongoing. Equally appalling is his longtime strategy of denigrating the reputations of women who accused him of such actions."

His actions, it continued, were "beyond the pale."

Several schools have given Cosby honorary degrees over the years, including Oberlin College, Boston University and the College of William and Mary. The latter's college newspaper reported earlier in September that the college would not rescind Cosby's degree. William and Mary provost Michael R. Halleran, according to the article, said it would be "very messy."

In July, Spelman College ended a Cosby professorship, despite the fact that Bill Cosby and his wife Camile donated some $20 million to Spelman College in the ’80s, according to ajc.com. Other schools that have cut ties with Cosby include Berklee College of Music and his alma mater, Temple University.

While this may be the first time the university has rescinded an honorary degree, it's not the first time the Fordham community has called for one to be revoked.

In February 2015, eight members of university faculty founded Fordham Against Torture (FAT), which created a petition calling the university to revoke former CIA chief John Brennan's honorary degree. Among their requests was that the president promote "reflection within the Fordham community on how our university can better live up to the values espoused in its mission statement."

Although the petition gained over 700 signatures from faculty, students and alumni, the Board of Trustees unanimously voted not to revoke Brennan's degree.



Laura Sanicola is the news editor at The Fordham Ram and is a member of the USA TODAY College contributor network.

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