He was reproached for referring to a "disadvantaged population that doesn't have that genetic, hereditary background" to perform well on standardized tests.

Or do we deal with a disadvantaged population that doesn't have the genetic, hereditary background to have a higher average?

The words were spoken last November when he made a convoluted remark during a two-hour faculty meeting, referring to disadvantaged students who lack the "genetic, hereditary background" to score well on college admissions tests.

A promotion to a higher military rank was based on military skill, not hereditary background, so was a classic meritocracy.

It was one year ago this week that Francis L. Lawrence, the Rutgers president, told a faculty group that black students lacked the "genetic, hereditary background" to excel on college admissions tests.

At a two-hour faculty meeting, Lawrence referred to disadvantaged students as lacking the "genetic, hereditary background" to score well on college admissions exams.

The Rutgers president, in referring to "genetic, hereditary background," put a tangible face on a deeply rooted issue the B.C.A. exposed last year.

Today, the board chairman, Carleton A. Holstrom, said the trustees "repudiate" the president's comment on "genetic, hereditary background."

Lawrence said at a faculty meeting last November that disadvantaged students may lack the "genetic, hereditary background" to score well on college admissions exams.

Last year he sparked campus-wide protests by referring to minority groups as a "disadvantaged population that doesn't have that genetic hereditary background" to perform well on standardized tests.