Look, he's too old to grow new brain cells

Posted July 18th, 2007 by Prometheus 6

PROVIDENCE (AP) — Amid outrage from students, school leaders and legislators over his use of the N-word, the former chairman of the Roger Williams University board said Wednesday he wants his name removed from its law school.

Ralph Papitto, who has donated millions of dollars to the university, used the slur during a May board meeting. He admitted saying it Monday, two days after it was first reported, and said he had apologized, but then saw demands only intensify to strip his name from Rhode Island's only law school.

Papitto, 80, asked that his name be removed from the Ralph R. Papitto School of Law in a letter to the new chairman of the Roger Williams board, Richard Bready. Bready said in a written statement that the board accepted Papitto's request and "will continue to move forward with its plans to ensure a more diverse board."

"I take full responsibility for this matter and ask for understanding from the community," Papitto said in a statement read by his spokesman, Mike Trainor. "I do not want this controversy, which at present is running out of control, to further the damage already caused to the university."

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What Was Going On At The Board Meeting?

On July 18th, 2007 ptcruiser says:

The word didn't just slip out but what was going on? What was under consideration at the time?

Papitto, who is white,

On July 18th, 2007 Prometheus 6 says:

Papitto, who is white, said Monday that the slur "kind of slipped out" while discussing the difficulty of finding minorities to serve on the university's 16-member board, which then included 14 white men, two women and no minorities.

Since May, three board members who called for Papitto's resignation were ousted. Papitto himself resigned this month after four decades on the board.

Roger Williams' president and the law school dean denounced Papitto's remarks, but students and minority leaders called for the university to do more to distance itself from Papitto.

Prometheus 6