U. of Missouri Rescinds Bill Cosby’s Honorary Degree, Joining Over 20 Colleges

The University of Missouri’s Board of Curators voted unanimously on Friday to rescind Bill Cosby’s honorary degree from the flagship Columbia campus, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

The system’s president, Mun Y. Choi, had recommended that Mr. Cosby, a 79-year-old actor, relinquish his Doctor of Humane Letters degree, awarded in 1999, after his trial for aggravated indecent assault ended on Saturday in a mistrial.

The board’s decision added Missouri to the list of more than 20 other colleges across the country that in the past few years have revoked honorary degrees granted to Mr. Cosby. The wave of revocations was at its most intense nearly two years ago.

Mr. Choi also noted in his recommendation that Mr. Cosby admitted in a 2005 deposition that he had given over-the-counter allergy medication to “relax” a woman who has accused him of sexual assault.

“While the Pennsylvania jury in this instance did not find unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Cosby had engaged in criminal conduct, the standard for rescinding the university’s unilateral gift of an honorary degree is different than that required of the Pennsylvania jury to find criminal guilt,” according to a board-meeting document.