After years of calls from advocates, faculty, and alumni, Temple University finally revoked Bill Cosby’s honorary degree on Friday. The move came one day after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting former Temple employee, Andrea Constand.
“In 1991, based on his career achievements, Temple awarded an honorary degree to William Cosby,” the university said in a short, three-sentence statement. “Yesterday, Dr. Cosby was found guilty by a jury of the felony of aggravated sexual assault.
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“Today, the Temple University Board of Trustees has accepted the recommendation of the University to rescind the honorary degree.”
A number of degrees
Cosby had been awarded nearly 60 honorary degrees since 1985. Since the allegations resurfaced in 2014, numerous Colleges have since revoked them. While some, such as Marquette, Boston University, Fordham, and the University of Connecticut, quickly rescinded them before a verdict, others like Wesleyan University, North Carolina A&T, and Johns Hopkins University, waited until after Cosby was convicted.
Others, like Boston College and Yale University, will not revoke an honorary degree under any circumstance – Yale has said it was reviewing its policy.
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Cosby dropped out of high school after failing 10th grade. He joined the navy and finished his diploma while serving.
He was honorably discharged in 1961 and entered Temple. After quitting to start his comedy career in 1963, he was awarded his bachelors by the school in 1971 based on “life experience.”
Cosby received his Master’s Degree in education from the University of Massachusetts and later received his Ph.D from UMass in 1976. Cosby also served on Temple’s Board of Trustees from 1982 until 2014.
