Ralph R. Papitto has resigned to spend more time using racist slurs against his own family

[Ian David]

Yes, it was "The N Word"...

University official who spoke slur resigns

By Associated Press | July 15, 2007

BRISTOL, R.I. -- A former trustee at Roger Williams University said the longtime chairman of the board was forced to resign this week after he uttered a racist slur at a May meeting.

This week, Ralph R. Papitto stepped down after more than 40 years on the board, including the last 18 as chairman. The 80-year-old, for whom the university's law school is named, said he was retiring because of his age and a desire to spend more time with his family.

But Dr. Barbara H. Roberts, who served as a trustee for two years and was Papitto's former cardiologist, told The Providence Journal that Papitto was forced out after using a racial slur about black people during a May 2 trustees meeting.

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Papitto, who founded a Fortune 500 company, Nortek Inc., has given more than $7 million to the university.

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"He started saying, 'They want us to add more poor kids and they want us to add more, . . . ' " Roberts said, adding that the remark concluded with a racial slur.

More:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2007/07/15/university_official_who_spoke_slur_resigns/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+City%2FRegion+News


See also:

Nortek CEO succeeds Papitto as RWU chairman

BRISTOL – The board of trustees at Roger Williams University has elected Richard Bready, the chairman and CEO of Nortek Inc., to serve as board chairman. He replaces longtime chairman Ralph R. Papitto, who was named chairman emeritus.

“I have had the pleasure of working with Ralph Papitto both in business and on the Roger Williams board, and thank him for his dedication and successful leadership,” Bready said said.

Papitto, a member of the board for nearly 40 years, will continue to serve as a trustee, the university said. Board Vice Chairman John Tarantino was elected trustee and vice chairman emeritus, though no successor was named.

“It is time to build a distinguished board that will be more diverse, more global, and that will represent alumni and other parts of the campus community,” Bready said in a statement The school will continue to add facilities, he said, noting that “In the past five years the University has built a new recreation center, dining hall, expanded the architecture school and hired 80 new faculty.”

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Bready has a bachelor’s degree in economics from St. Anselm College, a master’s degree in accounting from Northeastern University and an honorary doctorate in business administration from Johnson & Wales University. A member of the RWU board many years ago, he was re-elected last year. He is also a member of the boards of the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council and National Conference of Christians and Jews, among others.

More:
http://www.pbn.com/stories/26353.html


See Also:

RWU chairman Papitto assailed over racial epithet
01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, July 14, 2007
By Jennifer D. Jordan
Journal Staff Writer

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At the May 2 meeting, Roberts said, Papitto and the trustees were discussing a sternly worded report criticizing the board’s lack of diversity — of its 16 members, 14 are white men. Papitto became agitated, Roberts said, and used the word “n-----” while talking about diversifying the board.

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At a May 9 emergency meeting, trustees Roberts, Joseph A. Caramadre and Sally E. Lapides demanded Papitto’s resignation. (Lapides was not present at the May 2 meeting.) After two months of meetings and negotiations, Papitto stepped down Monday, replaced by Richard L. Bready, a trustee and longtime business associate of Papitto. Lapides, Roberts and Caramadre were all removed from the board.

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But in a July 2 letter to Roberts, Papitto wrote, “I formally and without any equivocation apologized to the Board for a highly inappropriate statement I made at a private session of the Board. Any further publication itself is potentially tortious activity that can only harm the University and will be considered a serious negative action.”

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Of the remaining board members, several still have close ties to Papitto, who founded a Fortune 500 company, Nortek Inc., and has given more than $7 million to the university over the years. Members include Bready, who succeeded Papitto at Nortek in 1990; Papitto’s son-in-law Harry M. Crump; and Mario J. Gabelli, a major stockholder in Nortek. (The business school at Roger Williams is named for Gabelli.)

“There is so much conflict of interest on this board, no one would say anything,” said Roberts, who was Papitto’s doctor until she called for his resignation. “I decided I was going to be the one to do this.”

More:
http://www.projo.com/news/content/RWU_PAPITTO_07-14-07_9C6C1A6.34c7fd2.html

[rodeodance]

1. so, he wants this be be kept quiet for the sake of the University---such a

moral hight ground!!

....But in a July 2 letter to Roberts, Papitto wrote, “I formally and without any equivocation apologized to the Board for a highly inappropriate statement I made at a private session of the Board. Any further publication itself is potentially tortious activity that can only harm the University and will be considered a serious negative action.”

[Catherine Vincent]

2. If you believe this statement, I've got a bridge I want to sell you:

"The first time I heard it was on television or rap music or something," he told WPRO

:rofl: