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University of Massachusetts Cuts Ties To Cosby

Comedian Bill Cosby performs at the Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts, in Melbourne, Fla. in November. (Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP)
Comedian Bill Cosby performs at the Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts, in Melbourne, Fla. in November. (Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP)

The University of Massachusetts-Amherst has cut ties with alumnus Bill Cosby amid allegations by women accusing the comedian of sexual assault.

University spokesman Edward Blaguszewski told the Boston Globe on Wednesday that school officials had asked Cosby to step down as an honorary co-chairman of the university's $300 million fundraising campaign, and Cosby agreed.

Cosby received a master's and a doctorate in education from the university. He and his wife, Camille, donated several hundred thousand dollars to the school.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley sent a letter to the university urging them to cut ties with Cosby.

Coakley said that while Cosby hadn't been criminally charged, his association sends the wrong message at a time when the state is focused on the prevention of campus sexual assault.

Cosby's lawyer has called the allegations "unsubstantiated" and "discredited."

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