PHILADELPHIA-Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania share the same West Philadelphia neighborhood, but their stands on honorary degrees they awarded to beleaguered entertainer Bill Cosby are decidedly different.
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The school said on its website Thursday that Cosby’s “egregious conduct” that he acknowledged in a public deposition is “inconsistent with the character, values and behavior” it expects of the holder of an honorary degree.
He later added, “Universities are critical arenas in the movement to recognize and address sexual violence and misconduct as a societal problem”.
“Based on a unanimous recommendation from the University Committee for honorary degree recipients, the University of Pittsburgh has rescinded the honorary doctor of humane letters degree awarded to Bill Cosby in 2002 at the commencement ceremony on Pitt’s Johnstown campus”, the school said in a statement. “The Bryant Board of Trustees considers this an extremely serious matter”.
Brown, Fordham, Marquette, Tufts, the University of San Francisco, Baylor, Lehigh, and Wilkes Universities and Goucher, Muhlenberg, and Franklin and Marshall Colleges also have revoked Cosby degrees. However, the deposition was put on hold by a court Thursday following an appeal by Cosby’s lawyers.
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The disgraced comedian faces depositions by several accusers bringing lawsuits against Cosby, most recently actress Louisa Moritz, who is suing for defamation after Team Cosby maligned her in the press for coming forward with allegations that the sitcom star stuck his penis in her mouth in a Tonight Show dressing room.
