UConn’s board on Wednesday will vote on whether to revoke the honorary degree it awarded comedian Bill Cosby two decades ago. The university says it would be the first time it’s taken such an action.
UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz says the school acknowledges Cosby hasn’t yet been convicted of a crime. But comments he made in a sworn deposition — (about his efforts to seduce young women, including the use of Quaaludes) are enough, Reitz says, to consider revoking the honorary degree.
“I wouldn’t want to presume how the trustees are going to vote, but they wouldn’t have brought it up for an action if they weren’t serious about considering it,” she says.
Reitz says she’s not aware of anyone from UConn inviting Cosby or his representatives to speak on his behalf. She says the board would welcome that, but:
I suspect he has other things on his plate right now that are bigger than whether he’s going to have an honorary degree from UConn,” Reitz says.
Cosby faces criminal charges in Pennsylvania; his attorney says he’s not guilty.
While many schools beat UConn to the punch, two other Connecticut universities that’ve honored Cosby in the past — Yale and Wesleyan — have so far left the matter alone.