In the course of the discussion, John Lombardi called Adam Herbert, who later got the job as head of the state's public university system, an ''Oreo ... black on the outside and white on the inside.''
The racial tone was uncharacteristic of Lombardi, colleagues say, but it could cost him his job as leader of the state's flagship university.
Though his brash style has gotten him into trouble in the past, black leaders and education officials haven't denounced him for the remark, citing his past efforts at improving race relations.
Lombardi, president of the school since 1990 and one of 302 candidates during the University of Michigan's 1996 presidential search, apologized to Herbert in a letter earlier this week and said Tuesday the remark was a poor choice of words.
"One of the things Adam Herbert has done extraordinarily well over the years is deal with race and ethnicity in a very complex society," he said. "I just picked the wrong shorthand."
Herbert begins work Monday as the first black chancellor of Florida's 10 public universities and their 220,000 students. He said yesterday he wouldn't comment on LombardiÕs remark "until I have had an opportunity to sit down and have a discussion with John."
The two men are expected to meet today, when the 14-member Board of Regents, which oversees the schools, meets in Fort Myers. The regents hire and fire university presidents.
"It was a horrible comment to make. Having said that, I have never heard anything like that coming from President Lombardi," said state Education Commissioner Frank Brogan, who sits on the board. "I want to get all the facts on this issue before I come down to an opinion to what ought to occur."
Gov. Lawton Chiles yesterday called the remark "unfortunate." "I'm delighted he has made an apology and weÕll just see what happens," he said.
Several people at the Dec. 16 party said Lombardi was listing those he expected to apply for chancellor. When he came to Herbert, then president of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Lombardi called him an "Oreo."
When one of the dinner companions pressed him about the word, Lombardi said it meant Herbert is "black on the outside and white on the inside." Lombardi, a specialist in Latin American history, has been a favorite of his school's supporters. The school, Florida's largest with 42,000 students, has seen its academic reputation improve and its fund-raising increase, especially after the football team won the national championship in 1996.
In 1995, Lombardi caused a stir when he bypassed outgoing Chancellor Charles Reed and went straight to state lawmakers with his ideas.