Fordham University has rescinded the honorary degree the school previously bestowed on now-disgraced comedian Bill Cosby.

According to TMZ, during a board of trustees meeting earlier this week, university president Joseph McShane raised a motion to strip Cosby of the doctorate he received in 2001. Reportedly, the board was in unanimous support, marking the first time in school history a person has lost an honorary degree.

Fordham is not the first university to distance itself from Cosby in recent months. Spellman College and his alma mater University of Massachusetts at Amherst are among the institutions that have severed ties with him in the wake of sexual assault allegations.

More than 50 women have recently stepped forward to allege they were drugged and sexually assaulted by the now 78-year-old comedian over a period that spans at least four decades.

"The University has taken this extraordinary step in light of Mr. Cosby's now-public court depositions that confirm many of the allegations made against him," Fordham officials said in a statement.

Cosby also faces a deposition hearing in California early next month, stemming from an attack former Playboy bunny Judy Huth alleges she suffered at his hands more than 40 years ago when she was still a teenager.

Given Cosby's legendary status, next month's proceedings are expected to attract widespread attention from all circles. Adding to the drama is the fact he will be interrogated by well-known civil rights attorney Gloria Allred, who has promised to question him about each and every one of his alleged victims "because it proves his M.O."

Through his attorneys, Cosby has vehemently denied all the allegations and has never faced criminal charges. During next month's hearing, he will be legally required to answer all questions because the statute of limitations on self-incrimination has expired.

Some 35 of Cosby's accusers recently posed for a New York magazine cover story, in which many recounted the horrors they allegedly suffered during personal encounters with the "Cosby Show" dad.