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Gene Nichol, the former president of William & Mary, resigned yesterday amid much controversy in Williamsburg.
Since taking over the position in July 2005, Nichol has enacted several policies that have had a positive reception from The College of William & Mary, but a controversial reaction from the school's Board of Visitors and the Virginia House of Delegates.
In a statement to the school announcing his resignation, Nichol claimed four incidents that occurred during his tenure as college president have directly resulted in "a committed, relentless, frequently untruthful and vicious campaign - on the Internet and in the press" being waged against him and his family.
The incidents include Nichol's "altering the way a Christian cross was displayed" on a public building that was used for college events both religious and secular, to make religious minorities feel more comfortable and included on campus.
Nichols also refused to ban a speaker series program that was both governed by students and paid for by student fees, who some had found offensive or unappealing, at the risk of violating student's First Amendment rights.
He has also enacted programs to help increase financial aid for potential students with the strongest financial need, as well as boosted the diversity at William & Mary since his stint as president began. According to Nichol's statement, the last two incoming classes at the college have been the most diverse in the school's history.
Over the past two years, the school has also doubled its number of minority faculty members at the same time integrating more minorities into the administrative leadership of the college.
As a result of those actions, Nichols claimed in his statement that that the Privileges and Elections Committee of the Virginia House of Delegates "effectively threaten(ed) Board appointees if I were not fired over decisions concerning the Wren Cross and Sex Worker's Art Show."
Nichol was informed by the school's rector on Sunday, Feb. 10 that his contract as school president would not be renewed in July, and he elected not to finish out his tenure.
The reaction on campus has been largely one of shock and disappointment, and has created discontent among students toward the William & Mary administration.
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He kept screwing up and it was costing money. Of course, he blames everyone else for his actions
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Don't start spouting off about something you know nothing about. He wasn't blaming others for his actions. And if you paid any attention to what the students were saying, you'd know that the BOV's decision didn't have anything to do with what the W&M community wanted - it was swayed by moneybags, which should never be the only concern for a college administration.
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The controversy with Nichol is about alot of different things. I don't necessarily agree with alot of the decisions that he made for our school, but I feel that the job of the president of a college is to represent the interests of the students and faculty first and foremost and then to serve as a liaison between us and the BOV. It took alot of strength for him to stay committed to our rights and freedoms even after all the outside pressure from donors and media. I may not agree with his decisions about some of the controversies, but I admire him for taking a stand for us.
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Nichols' political leanings and views were well known before he was hired -- he's not a shy guy. They shouldn't have hired him if they didn't want his vision for W&M.
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This was a matter of style, not politics. His politics were nearly identical to Tim Sullivan. But his parting letter, the timing and content, were the final evidence of what many alumni and leaders feared: that his was a Presidency based on a cult of personality. He alienated the very groups he needed and used his student popularity as a weapon against his critics. His reckless leadership actually endangered the very programs he was trying to fulfill - Gateway most of all. Without the support of alumni and the legislature, these programs were hurting for cash. Tim Sullivan knew how to push through change without causing a firestorm. Perhaps the next President will understand this better.
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There has been a complete disregard to take into consideration the opinions of William and Mary students and faculty. Despite, all the controversies - Nichol has been a catalyst and proponent for free thinking and in opening the doors of William and Mary to different opinions and cultures. This will not end with his unjust removal.
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I am a student here at William and Mary, and we are holding a sit-in tomorrow in our Sunken Gardens from 11am-6pm (rain location is the University Center). Our campus is strong and unified in our voice and desire to be heard by both the BOV and the state.
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The comments regarding the previous president, Sullivan, are incorrect. While he had more tact than Nichol, he was a status-quo guy--he didn't change the College much during his tenure, and that is the reason that 95% of the faculty approved the hiring of Nichol--he represented "a breath of fresh air" in the words of one Professor I talked to. WJShurman is correct in pointing out that Nichol helped create his own problems in some ways, but Tim Sullivan and Gene Nichol were very different men in terms of what they envisioned for the College. He may very well have alienated some leaders in the General Assembly, but those people, in addition to the BOV far overstepped the intended bounds of their powers. They are supposed to act as oversight powers--they are a failsafe to protect the College, and should not have acted as independently as they did. Especially the General Assembly--they did not leave the job to the professionals here, and the awful timing of these events is due in large part to their actions. This is detrimental to the true aim of the College in that potential faculty will be very aware that Nichol's removal was ultimately a political action, not the decision of the faculty or the administration, and that knowledge(combined with below average salaries, due to state budget cuts) will not help to make the College an attractive place to teach.
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This is a sad day for the College and Gene Nichol will be missed. I am disappointed in the BOV for bending over the table from pressure from the state legislators. The representatives in Virginia are a bunch of conservative dolts who every year embarrass the state by either continuing backwards traditions (ie gunshow loop hole) or submitting ridiculous bills (ie no butt crack showing in public). The fact that group of politicians managed to force the BOV to do their bidding is shameful for the College. Change is never easy but Gene Nichol was moving school in an intellectually fresh and new direction for the prominence in the 21st century, too bad a bunch of uneducated, intolerant conservative christians had to ruin it. Gene Nichol the intellectuals and academics still support you, come up north if you want to work for schools that still embrace free thought and tolerance for all opinions.
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This board is only for Hokies. You W&M people can take your losing football team and go back to Williamsburg!
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Some insite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvN18FC4QQE I wanted to bring the SWAS to Tech... Maybe next year. check them out at www.(I can't type the word S$X)workersartshow.com
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To "What?". I think hearing from W&M students on this issue is important and helps us understand the situation a little better. And why bring up anything about their football team. This is good conversation going on and you sound like a dolt!
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This is a football school forum. We beat William and Mary in football, ergo, the entire W&M university staff should be dismissed! Sports, sports, sports. The person who made the below comment probably enjoys reading and conversation.
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