The wave of sexual allegations from Hollywood to Washington has left many U.S. colleges weighing whether to revoke honorary degrees and other accolades awarded to prominent men accused of misconduct.
Dozens of schools have bestowed honors upon men who now face accusations ranging from sexual harassment to assault. Fired news anchor Charlie Rose has at least nine honorary degrees, for example, and Pixar executive John Lasseter has two.
Some schools have already started cutting ties, including the University at Buffalo, which rescinded a 2001 honorary degree awarded to film mogul and alumnus Harvey Weinstein. The University of Kansas and Arizona State recently pulled two journalism awards from Rose, citing allegations of groping and inappropriate behavior from several women.
But other schools have yet to decide the fate of similar symbolic accolades, which are often given to honor success but have increasingly been withdrawn when recipients fall from grace.
“It’s an issue that more colleges are facing now, and I think each one will look very carefully at these situations and make their own determination,” said Timothy McDonough, a vice president of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges.
Three schools — North Carolina State, New York’s Oswego State and New Jersey’s Montclair State — are all reconsidering honorary degrees given to Rose before he was fired from CBS and PBS on Nov. 21.
The final decision at North Carolina State and Oswego State will be made by their governing boards, which traditionally hold the power to confer and rescind degrees. Oswego State officials said Thursday that they have started the process to revoke Rose’s 2014 honorary degree.
