Roger Williams University Rids Donor Name From Law School

Following his apology for using a racial slur at a board meeting, Ralph R. Papitto, donor and board member to Roger Williams University of Rhode Island, announced this past Wednesday that he had asked to have his name removed from the university’s law school. The school’s board quickly accepted his request. 

Papitto’s admitted use of the “N” word at a May board meeting immediately led to accusations that he had made other damaging racial remarks while in professional surroundings. However, the Wednesday request from Papitto to remove his name from the law school, while accompanied with an apology, also included a denial of using other slurs. The conversation in which the racist language was used, board members say, was ironically about accreditors’ criticisms of the school’s board’s lacking diversity. 

President of the university, Roy J. Nirschel, issued a statement Wednesday saying Papitto’s name would be removed from the law school, and thanking Papitto for “making what must have been a difficult decision, but one that is in the best interest of the university to which he has devoted so many years of his life.”

Nirschel also thanked students and faculty members for offering “a diverse mosaic of ideas and opinions” in a civil and considerate manner during these past few weeks.