Actions

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute strips Cosby of honorary degree

Posted

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is stripping Bill Cosby of his 2001 honorary degree, saying his sexual assault conviction shows he "has grossly failed to embody the ideals of personal integrity and good citizenship" on which it was based.

RPI joins more than two dozen colleges and universities that have revoked honorary degrees from Cosby, many long before last month's conviction. An RPI spokesman announced the board of trustees' decision Monday.

Temple University, Yale, Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon and the University of Cincinnati are among those that revoked honors after jurors in Pennsylvania convicted Cosby of drugging and molesting a Temple employee at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

Dozens of other women have accused the actor of drugging and assaulting them. Cosby maintains his innocence and says he'll appeal the conviction.