Gene Nichol | |
---|---|
26th President of the College of William & Mary | |
In office July 1, 2005 –February 12, 2008 | |
Preceded by | Timothy J. Sullivan |
Succeeded by | W. Taylor Reveley III |
12th Dean of the University of Colorado School of Law | |
In office 1988–1995 | |
Preceded by | Betsy Levin |
Succeeded by | Harold H. Bruff |
Personal details | |
Born | Dallas,Texas,United States | May 11,1951
Spouse | Glenn George |
Children | Jesse,Jenny and Soren |
Alma mater | Oklahoma State University University of Texas Law School |
Profession | Educator |
Gene Ray Nichol,Jr. (born May 11,1951) [1] is an educator who served as the twenty-sixth president of the College of William &Mary in Williamsburg,Virginia,United States. He succeeded Timothy J. Sullivan and officially served from July 1,2005,to February 12,2008. It was the shortest tenure for a William &Mary president since the Civil War. [2] During each year of his presidency,however,the college continued to break its own application records. [3]
Nichol spent his prep years at Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas,Texas (Class of 1969). He then attended Oklahoma State University (Class of 1973),where he received a philosophy degree and participated on the varsity football team. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Texas (Class of 1976),graduating Order of the Coif. He then became the dean of the University of Colorado School of Law from 1988 to 1995,as well as dean of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law from 1999 to 2005. [4]
He previously worked at William &Mary as Cutler Professor of Constitutional Law and director of the Institute of Bill of Rights Law from 1985 to 1988. His other positions have included teaching law in the undergraduate and law schools of the University of Colorado,the University of Florida,the University of Exeter,the University of Oxford,and West Virginia University.
Nichol made a bid for the United States Senate representing the state of Colorado in 1996 with the Democratic Party,but was defeated in the primary. He also made a bid for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1998 and was defeated in a 4-way primary by Mark Udall.
As president of The College of William & Mary, Nichol was forced by the NCAA to drop the college's feathers from its logo after a lengthy appeals process. The college was allowed to retain the team name of "Tribe." [5] While several schools, including the University of North Dakota and the University of Illinois have been forced to abandon their mascots, others, such as the University of Utah and Florida State University, who have standing relationships and friendly histories with the tribes represented by their mascots, were allowed to keep their Native American-based logos. The college administration disputed the NCAA decision, but ultimately agreed to the restrictions.
One of the first initiatives Gene Nichol undertook as president was the "Gateway William & Mary" program. [6] "Designed for women and men whose academic promise exceeds their economic means, the [financial-aid] program . . . provide[s] a combination of institutional, state and federal grants for low- and middle-income students who have the desire to attend a world-class university without incurring debt." [7]
Nichol's October 2006 decision to change a long-standing university policy by removing a cross from permanent display on the altar of the Chapel in the Wren Building ended his first year as president in controversy. He explained that a cross in the chapel of a public university made some students of other religious traditions feel unwelcome in a place considered by the community to be an important part of campus. [8]
Under the new policy, the cross would be displayed only in the chapel during Christian religious services, or upon request, in an effort to make the space more welcoming to groups of mixed faith. After complaints were made, Nichol amended the policy so that the cross would be displayed on Sundays, and other Christian days of observance.
Nichol became the target of criticism from a number of alumni, students, and benefactors for changing this policy. Nichol stated that he had received "several complaints," from students and parents because the college frequently holds student organization meetings in the chapel.
Due to this decision, alumnus James McGlothlin revoked $12 million he had planned on giving to the college's capital campaign. [9]
Stories had surfaced that Nichol knew of the revoked donation before he announced that the Fund for William and Mary met its $500 million fundraising goal. McGlothlin's rescinding of the pledge pushed the fundraising back under $500 million, and he had revealed to former President Timothy J. Sullivan in an e-mail that he would take back the pledge. In response, Sullivan wrote:
I would like to make it clear to everyone in the William & Mary community that since I left the College everything I have learned which might assist the College or protect her from harm has been communicated to the College administration verbally or by e-mail. [10]
— Timothy J. Sullivan
Nichol denied knowing about the revoked pledge before the announcement that the fundraising goal had been reached. [11] The college initially refused to release the e-mail between Nichol and Sullivan, but capitulated to several FOIA requests. The e-mail read:
Dear Nick,
Greetings from London where we are having a great holiday. I hope things are well with you, Glenn and the girls. I need to tell you about a recent communication from Jim McGlothlin. As you know I have been working hard with Taylor toward a 12 Million dollar gift from Jim to the Law School. I felt that we were making good progress and moving toward closure, but I talked to Jim who is very upset and angry about the Wren cross, and is not prepared to give any more money at this time because he is so upset about the removal of the cross from the Chapel. I am not sure that I can do anything more to help you with Jim. He is very angry. I have said from the time that you became president that I would help you with anything that you needed, and I was prepared to talk about anything with you. We have not spoken (absolutely you're right) but I could have told you where this decision would go. I will do anything that you can think of that would help you at this time — but I have to say that I am so sorry that William and Mary has come to this place.Best,
Tim [12]
After months of controversy, which saw conservative commentators and national conservative political figures speak against the decision, Nichol established a presidential committee to explore the issue. Comprising students, faculty, staff, and alumni, the committee was charged with examining the "role of religion in a public university" in general, and at William & Mary in particular. The committee focused its efforts toward resolving the Wren Cross controversy. [13]
On March 6, 2007, William & Mary announced that the committee had recommended that the cross be returned to Wren Chapel as an artifact displayed in a glass case, with a plaque explaining the college's Anglican heritage and historical connection to Bruton Parish Church. Nichol and the Board of Visitors agreed to the recommendation in a press conference. In addition, the chapel sacristy would continue to be available to store religious symbols of any faith, which may be brought into the chapel as appropriate. [14]
Additional controversy followed Nichol after allowing the Sex Workers' Art Show to proceed to campus on February 4, 2008. The tour visited college campuses and other venues across the country. While personally expressing his displeasure with the content of the student-funded show, Nichol felt censoring the performance would be inappropriate. He issued a statement saying, "The First Amendment and the defining traditions of openness that sustain universities are hallmarks of academic inquiry and freedom. It is the speech we disdain that often puts these principles to the test. The College of William & Mary will not knowingly and intentionally violate the constitutional rights of its students. Censorship has no place at a great university." [15] Nichol's allowance of the Sex Workers' Art Show to perform on the campus garnered mixed reactions among both the general public and the college student body.
Local and state levels of government officials, though not directly affected by the decision, spoke against it. [16] Delegate Brenda L. Pogge (R – Yorktown) feared that the college, as a state symbol, may have "tarnished its legacy." [16] Pogge mailed Nichol a letter that asked him to stop the show. She also requested a city police presence to determine if a state obscenity statute was broken. [17]
Statewide, the Virginia House of Delegates (specifically the Privileges and Elections Committee) effectively "threatened" [15] the Board of Visitors' appointees if they refused to fire Nichol over the surrounding controversies during his tenure, culminating with the Sex Workers' Art Show. [15] [18] Nichol's permission to allow a cabaret-style burlesque show on campus also offended many of the college's more conservative alumni, which resulted in some loss of endowment. [19]
The students at the College of William & Mary showed little opposition to the show. [16] The Art Show's first appearance on campus in 2005 received little media attention, but the second visit in 2006 generated more interest from the students for the following year. [20] Students who opposed the show's content often accepted its arrival on campus due to their support for freedom of speech. [20] The tour performed two shows at William & Mary in 2008, both of which sold out quickly. [21]
After the Board of Visitors decided not to renew his three-year contract, which was already set to expire on June 30, 2008, Nichol resigned on February 12. Several weeks after his resignation he returned to teach at the University of North Carolina School of Law. [22] Matt Marvin, a UNC Law School spokesperson, said that all of the controversy surrounding Nichol did not alarm them and that they welcomed him back to the university. [22]
In his resignation letter, Nichol claimed that the Board of Visitors had offered him money to stay silent on the reason he was fired, freedom of speech. He also claimed members of the Board of Visitors had been threatened by legislators if they did not order his resignation, and that the Virginia government was unhappy with his efforts to diversify the student body and faculty. Nichol claimed that he was offered "substantial economic incentives" to not mention this as well. [23] [24] The Board of Visitors denied these claims. [25] W. Taylor Reveley, III, then dean of the law school, was named as the interim president of the college after Nichol's resignation. [26] On September 5, 2008, Reveley officially succeeded Nichol as president when he was hired for a full three-year term.
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his Academical Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The original governing Board of Visitors included three U.S. presidents: Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe, the latter as sitting president of the United States at the time of its foundation. As its first two rectors, Presidents Jefferson and Madison played key roles in the university's foundation, with Jefferson designing both the original courses of study and the university's architecture. Located within its historic 1,135-acre central campus, the university is composed of eight undergraduate and three professional schools: the School of Law, the Darden School of Business, and the School of Medicine.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolling students in 1795, making it one of the oldest public universities in the United States.
The College of William & Mary in Virginia, is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and the ninth-oldest in the English-speaking world. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High Research Activity". In his 1985 book Public Ivies: A Guide to America's Best Public Undergraduate Colleges and Universities, Richard Moll included William & Mary as one of the original eight "Public Ivies". The university is also one of the original nine colonial colleges.
The University of Mary Washington (UMW) is a public liberal arts university in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the Fredericksburg Teachers College, the institution was named Mary Washington College in 1938 after Mary Ball Washington, mother of the first president of the United States, George Washington. The General Assembly of Virginia changed the college's name to the University of Mary Washington in 2004 to reflect the addition of graduate and professional programs to the central undergraduate curriculum, as well as the establishment of more than one campus. The university offers more than 60 graduate and undergraduate degree programs in three colleges: Arts and Sciences, Business, and Education.
Oral Roberts University (ORU) is a private evangelical university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1963, the university is named after its founder, Charismatic Christian preacher Oral Roberts.
Mount St. Mary's University is a private Roman Catholic university in Emmitsburg, Maryland. It has the largest Catholic seminary in the United States. Undergraduate programs are divided between the College of Liberal Arts, the Richard J. Bolte School of Business, and the School of Natural Science and Mathematics. "The Mount" has over 40 undergraduate majors, minors, concentrations, and special programs, as well as bachelor's/master's combinations in partnership with other universities, 8 master's programs, and 6 postgraduate certificate programs.
Ushaw College is a former Catholic seminary near the village of Ushaw Moor, County Durham, England, which is now a heritage and cultural tourist attraction. The college is known for its Georgian and Victorian Gothic architecture and listed nineteenth-century chapels. The college now hosts a programme of art exhibitions, music and theatre events, alongside tearooms and a café.
The Wren Building is the oldest building on the campus of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Along with the Brafferton and President's House, these buildings form the College's "Ancient Campus." With a construction history dating to 1695, it is the oldest academic building still standing in the United States and among the oldest buildings in Virginia. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960.
The Flat Hat is the official student newspaper at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. It prints Tuesdays during the College's academic year. It began printing twice-weekly in 2007; since its inception in 1911, The Flat Hat had printed weekly. It returned to weekly printing in 2015. In fall 2020, The Flat Hat began printing biweekly due to restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Flat Hat staff operates out of its office in William and Mary's Sadler Center.
Ave Maria University (AMU) is a private Roman Catholic university in Ave Maria, Florida. It shares its history with the former Ave Maria College in Ypsilanti, Michigan, which was founded in 1998 and moved its campus to Florida in 2007. The two schools were founded by philanthropist and entrepreneur, Tom Monaghan. In 2021, the enrollment was 1,245 students. In 2016 its student body was 80% Catholic.
The Virginia Informer was a student-run publication at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The newspaper contained five sections: News, Features, Sports, Arts & Culture, and Opinion. It was a member of the Collegiate Network and a member of the Associated Collegiate Press.
The Sunken Garden is the central element of the Old Campus at the College of William & Mary. The garden consists of a long stretch of grass, about 2.7 acres (1.1 ha), lying lower than the surrounding area, that runs west from the rear of the Wren Building to Crim Dell pond. The area is very popular for students wanting to study outside or play games like Ultimate. Functionally, it is similar to a university quadrangle.
Walter Taylor Reveley III is an American legal scholar and former lawyer. He served as the twenty-seventh president of the College of William & Mary. Formerly Dean of its law school from August 1998 to February 2008, Reveley was appointed interim president of William & Mary on February 12, 2008, following Gene Nichol's resignation earlier that day, and was elected the university's 27th president by the Board of Visitors on September 5, 2008. While president, Reveley continued his service as the John Stewart Bryan Professor of Jurisprudence at the law school.
The Seven Society, Order of the Crown & Dagger is the longest continually active secret society of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The clandestine, yet altruistic group is said to consist of seven senior individuals, selected in their junior year. While, historically, graduating members formally announced their identities each spring, today's membership is steeped in mystery and is only revealed upon a member's death.
The history of the College of William & Mary can be traced back to a 1693 royal charter establishing "a perpetual College of Divinity, Philosophy, Languages, and the good arts and sciences" in the British Colony of Virginia. It fulfilled an early colonial vision dating back to 1618 to construct a university level program modeled after Cambridge and Oxford at Henricus. A plaque on the Wren Building, the college's first structure, ascribes the institution's origin to "the college proposed at Henrico." It was named for the reigning joint monarchs of Great Britain, King William III and Queen Mary II. The selection of the new college's location on high ground at the center ridge of the Virginia Peninsula at the tiny community of Middle Plantation is credited to its first President, Reverend Dr. James Blair, who was also the Commissary of the Bishop of London in Virginia. A few years later, the favorable location and resources of the new school helped Dr. Blair and a committee of 5 students influence the House of Burgesses and Governor Francis Nicholson to move the capital there from Jamestown. The following year, 1699, the town was renamed Williamsburg.
Reveley, also known as the Griffin, is the mascot of The College of William & Mary. A mythical creature with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion, it was announced as William & Mary's mascot by President Taylor Reveley April 6, 2010. The Griffin mascot beat out the other four finalists: a King and Queen, a Phoenix, a Pug, and a Wren. The college hadn't had an official mascot since the late 1970s. It was named Reveley in 2018 to honor university president Taylor Reveley upon his retirement.
The history of the University of Virginia opens with its conception by Thomas Jefferson at the beginning of the early 19th century. The university was chartered in 1819, and classes commenced in 1825.
The campus of the University of Notre Dame is located in Notre Dame, Indiana, and spans 1,250 acres comprising around 170 buildings. The campus is consistently ranked and admired as one of the most beautiful university campuses in the United States and around the world, particularly noted for the Golden Dome, the Basilica and its stained glass windows, the quads and the greenery, the Grotto, Touchdown Jesus, its collegiate gothic architecture, and its statues and museums. Notre Dame is a major tourist attraction in northern Indiana; in the 2015–2016 academic year, more than 1.8 million visitors, almost half of whom were from outside of St. Joseph County, visited the campus.
The President's House is the residence of the President of the College of William and Mary in Virginia in Williamsburg, Virginia. Constructed in 1732, the building still serves its original purpose and is among the oldest buildings in Virginia. Since its construction only one of the college's presidents, Robert Saunders Jr., has not moved into the building, which is let for free to the president. The President's House is William & Mary's third-oldest building and the oldest official college presidential residence in the United States.
The College of William & Mary has maintained a campus in what is now Williamsburg, Virginia, since 1693. The cornerstone of the Wren Building, then known as the College Building and the oldest surviving academic building in the United States, was laid in 1695. The college's 18th-century campus includes the College Building, the President's House, and Brafferton–all of which were constructed using slave labor. These buildings were altered and damaged during the succeeding centuries before receiving significant restorations by the Colonial Williamsburg program during the 1920s and 1930s.