Former official: Remove my name from law school

By JENNIFER D. JORDAN
The Providence Journal
Thursday, July 19, 2007

An apologetic Ralph R. Papitto, former chairman of the board of trustees at Roger Williams University, has asked that his name be removed from the law school he helped found in an attempt to "mitigate the damage" caused by his use of a racial slur at a board meeting.

"A continued public discussion and debate over the name of the law school serves only to further damage the university," Papitto wrote in a statement delivered Wednesday by Michael Trainor, a public-relations consultant. "... Therefore, and as a reflection of the sincerity of my regret and of my deep commitment to Roger Williams University, I have today asked the board of trustees to remove my name from the law school."

Papitto's request followed five days of mounting pressure and calls for him to disassociate himself from the law school by students, faculty and minority leaders. A story in Saturday's Providence Journal disclosed Papitto's use of the racial epithet during a discussion at a May 2 trustees' meeting about the need to add more women and minorities to the board. The story also reported the recent ouster of three trustees, upset about the slur, who had called for Papitto's resignation May 9.

Papitto, 80, stepped down July 9 after serving as a trustee for 39 years, the last 20 as chairman. Wednesday, groups that had called for his name to be removed from the law school said Papitto had made the right decision.

"... We are pleased that Mr. Papitto is taking full responsibility for his actions," said student organizers Matthew Jerzyk, Majessire Smith and Kim Ahern, who gathered more than 180 signatures on a petition.

University President Roy J. Nirschel issued a campuswide e-mail in which he thanked Papitto "for making what must have been a difficult decision ... His role in founding the only law school in Rhode Island should not be underestimated or diminished in any way by the recent turn of events."

Papitto went on two local talk-radio shows Monday to apologize for using the racial slur. He said he never used the word before and had heard it for the first time in a rap song. He also criticized two of the trustees who had called for his resignation, Barbara H. Roberts and Sally E. Lapides, and said they were not thrown off the board in retaliation.

Papitto retains his emeritus status, which means he can attend board meetings, although he no longer has voting privileges, according to his lawyer, Joseph Cavanaugh.

"I deeply regret the pain that this remark has caused those in the African-American community and other minorities," Papitto said in the statement. "... Second only to the regret I have for the hurt this has caused in our African-American community is the dismay I have at the damage it has caused to the university I have loved and served for nearly 40 years. I apologize once again. ..."

Papitto, who founded a Fortune 500 company, Nortek, has given $2.8 million to the university in Bristol, according to school officials, and pushed for the law school to be created in 1993. In 1996, the board of trustees told Papitto of its desire to name the school after him, and then voted on the matter, according to Mike Doyle of the RDW Group, a public-relations agency.

Wednesday, members of the minority community praised Papitto's decision, but said the incident raised concerns about a lack of diversity on Roger Williams' governing board. They demanded the reinstatement of the three trustees who were removed.

"It goes to show that the truth always prevails," said Democratic state Rep. Joseph S. Almeida, chairman of the Rhode Island Minority Legislator/Leadership Caucus. "We're glad for Roger Williams University and we're glad for so many people this affected. People wanted to talk about this issue, express their feelings, and this is what came out of it."

(jjordan(at)projo.com.)