After losing his job at Fox in a $32 million settlement, Irish-American Bill O’Reilly has also lost his honorary degree from New York’s Marist College.
The Board of Trustees at New York’s Marist College has revoked the honorary degree of former Fox host Bill O’Reilly in the wake of sexual misconduct claims. Irish American O’Reilly was accused of assault by seven women, losing his job at Fox in April 2017 as a result.
The College’s board announced the decision after a scheduled meeting, citing the accusations made against the disgraced host as the reason for their decision on their website.
“Bill O'Reilly has been accused of engaging in multiple acts of sexual misconduct and sexual harassment of women in the workplace,” the statement read.
“Any form of sexual harassment or abuse is deeply contrary to the values of Marist. The Marist Board of Trustees has therefore revoked Mr. O'Reilly's honorary degree.”
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A statement from the Marist College Board of Trustees regarding Bill O'Reilly https://t.co/jQTK212ZtI
— Marist College (@Marist) February 4, 2018
A member of the Marist class of ‘71, O'Reilly was awarded an honorary degree from the college at the 2001 commencement. Although he has consistently denied the accusations made against him by the seven women, the settlement payments made to the women to the tune of millions of dollars and the 68-year-old’s eventual dismissal from Fox News led the board to believe there was credibility to the claims.
O’Reilly reached a $32 million settlement with his former employers in October 2017, with Marist College in November 2017 announcing that his honorary degree was to be discussed at an upcoming meeting.
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BREAKING: Marist College Revokes Bill O'Reilly's Honorary Degree! https://t.co/gGwxVF03ZO pic.twitter.com/500p8wMeBG
— Marist Circle (@maristcircle) February 4, 2018
The Irish American had also helped in the creation of a new scholarship at the college in 2015, donating $1 million to the Peter P. O'Keefe, Ph.D. Endowed Scholarship. Julia Fishman, director of media relations at Marist College stated that the scholarship and O'Reilly involvement is not being discussed at this time.
Do you think Marist College was right to revoke O'Reilly's honorary degree? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
H/T: Daily Mail
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