May 7, 1999

East Carolina U. Trustee Resigns After Racist Comment

A member of the Board of Trustees of East Carolina University -- who is also a major donor for whom the university's basketball arena is named -- resigned last month after using a racial slur at a meeting with athletics boosters.

Walter L. Williams, who had been a trustee since 1996, told the boosters that the men's basketball team was sure to improve under its new head coach. If it did not, he said, a "nigger in the woodpile" was to