Spelman College Drops Professorship Endowed by Bill Cosby

Spelman College in Atlanta has terminated a faculty chair that was endowed in the late 1980s with a $20-million gift from Bill and Camille Cosby, reports The New York Times. A spokeswoman for the historically black women’s college, which two of the Cosbys’ daughters attended, said funds related to the humanities professorship would be returned to a foundation established by Ms. Cosby.

Spelman indefinitely suspended the faculty post in December as allegations of serial sexual assault prompted several institutions of higher learning to distance themselves from Mr. Cosby. The Times published excerpts last week from a deposition the comedian gave in 2005 and 2006 in which he acknowledged obtaining drugs to give to women to whom he was attracted, but he has denied committing any assaults and has not been criminally charged.