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.
At the time, Papitto and the trustees were discussing a
report that criticized the board’s lack of diversity. Roberts said Papitto
became agitated and used the epithet.
Papitto refused to comment to the Journal about
the epithet and said he left the board on his own accord.
“This is a private institution and we consider board
meeting discussions confidential,” he told the Journal. “I stepped down
because the time has come.”
