Gene Nichol

Gene Ray Nichol, Jr. (born May 11, 1951) was the twenty-sixth president of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States.

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 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.

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.

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."

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.

"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."

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.

During each year of his presidency, however, the college continued to break its own application records.

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.

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.

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:

Nichol denied knowing about the revoked pledge before the announcement that the fundraising goal had been reached.

The college initially refused to release the e-mail between Nichol and Sullivan, but capitulated to several FOIA requests.

The e-mail read:

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.

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.

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.