SUNY Board of Trustees revokes Charlie Rose’s honorary degree

OSWEGO, N.Y.–This week, the SUNY Board of Trustees officially revoked the honorary degree given to Charlie Rose on behalf of SUNY Oswego.

The degree was awarded to Rose for being one of the Marquee members of the Lewis. B O’Donnell Media Summit back in 2014.

The degree was revoked due to allegations of sexual misconduct revealed in November. 

Some SUNY Oswego students have questioned why it took nearly three months to revoke Rose’s honorary degree.

SUNY Oswego spokesperson Wayne Westervelt stressed that it was not an action that could be made swiftly.

“SUNY Oswego cannot repeal the degree. That is something that we have to initiate with the chancellor’s office and then ultimately have the board of trustees take action,” Westervelt said. 

Westervelt also said there was absolutely no pushback from anyone at any level in the repealing of the degree. SUNY’s Board of Trustees only meets on such issues once a month, according to Emily Altschuler of the SUNY Student assembly. The discussion on whether to revoke the degree couldn’t begin until December.

The school officials have said they do not intend to change the vetting process through which honorary degrees are awarded. This is the first honorary degree that Oswego has had to revoke in school history, according to Westervelt.