Sex scandal fallout: Bill Cosby resigns from top university’s board of trustees
By Janet Lorin
Cosby said the move is in the "best interest of the university and its students," according to a statement yesterday from the Philadelphia-based school. He had been a trustee since 1982.
Several schools with links to Cosby have cut ties, including the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he earned a master's degree and doctorate in education; Berklee College of Music; and High Point University in North Carolina.
"This is the best thing for Temple and the Temple community," said Kerry Potter McCormick, an attorney and 2005 Temple graduate who began an online petition urging the college to ends its relationship with Cosby. The petition, started Nov. 20 on the Change.org website, has drawn almost 1,100 supporters.
The board accepted Cosby's resignation and thanked him "for his service to the university," according to the statement.
Cosby has encountered more than a dozen allegations of sexual assault, some dating back decades. He hasn't faced any prosecution tied to the accusations, though in 2006 he settled a lawsuit filed by Andrea Constand, a former employee of Temple.
Several of Cosby's one-man comedy shows have been canceled across the country. Netflix Inc. also postponed a Cosby special and NBC halted development of a TV series.
Spelman College
Cosby also has longstanding ties to Spelman College, an historically black women's school in Atlanta. He and his wife Camille donated $20 million in 1988 to construct an academic center and also endowed a professorship. The facility houses a fine arts museum and a college archive.
Camille Cosby received an honorary degree from Spelman and two of the couple's daughters attended the college.
In a Nov. 25 statement, Spelman President Beverly Daniel Tatum said the school "isn't in discussions regarding changes to the terms of the gift" from the Cosbys.
When asked yesterday if there had been any change, Spelman spokeswoman Audrey Arthur referred to last week's statement.
"Though it is not appropriate for the college to comment publicly on specific allegations against any individual, sexual assault is a profoundly serious issue for any educational institution," Tatum wrote in the statement. "Please know that we do not condone sexual violence in any form and understand our critical role as a women's college to lead in the fight against it." – BLOOMBERG