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.”
RWU’s law and business schools are fully accredited, “we have a top-rate architecture school and are recognized for our justice studies program,” Bready said. “The University enjoys an excellent reputation and I look forward to helping it move into this new century by building on those strengths and developing new ones.”
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.
NTK Holdings Inc. – a Delaware corporation that has its headquarters in Providence – is the parent of Nortek Holdings Inc. and Nortek Inc. NTK is a maker of branded residential and commercial merchandise including HVAC, ventilation and home security products. To learn more, visit www.nortek-inc.com.
Roger Williams University – now marking its 50th anniversary – is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as 10th among comprehensive colleges in the north. It enrolls more than 5,000 students at its main campus in Bristol, its Ralph R. Papitto School of Law and its Providence Metropolitan Center for Education and Law. For more information, call the university Office of Public Affairs at 254-3178.
