College President Resigns After Controversial Tenure

By Katherine T. Phan, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, February 13, 2008

The president of the College of William & Mary resigned Tuesday after a controversial tenure that included the removal of a cross from the nation's oldest college chapel and a green light for a sex workers' "art show" on campus.

Gene Nichol, whose resignation took effect immediately, publicized his decision in an e-mail sent Tuesday to the university community.

He was told over the weekend that his contract would not be renewed when it expires on June 30.

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"Mine, to be sure, has not been a perfect presidency," Nichol wrote in the e-mail. "I have sometimes moved too swiftly, and perhaps paid insufficient attention to the processes and practices of a strong and complex university. A wiser leader would likely have done otherwise."

Nichol, the former dean of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's law school, took office at the public college in Williamsburg, Va., in 2005.

In October 2006, Nichol came under heavy criticism after removing a cross from permanent display in Wren Chapel, saying it might offend those of non-Christian faiths.

His move sparked protests and outrage from thousands of students and alumni who signed petitions to have the cross returned. One donor rescinded pledges to give $12 million to the school. Some dismayed students and alumni also sought to remove Nichol from office.

The cross was returned to the chapel's altar last August where it remains in a locked, Plexiglas-like case. It can be removed from the case and placed on the altar by request.

Nichol's most recent controversy stemmed from his approval for the Sex Workers Art Show to appear on campus last week. The show, which also caused a stir at Duke University last week, featured monologues and performances by porn actors, strippers, homosexual prostitutes, and other sex workers. Despite strong criticism by conservative alumni and legislators, Nichol said his decision was backed by the First Amendment.

According to the departing college president, he and his family were victims in a "committed, relentless, frequently untruthful and vicious campaign" on the internet and the media. He alleged in his resignation e-mail that the House of Delegates Committee had effectively threatened board appointees if he had not been fired, according to The Associated Press.

Del. Mark Cole, R-Spotsylania and chairman of the House Privileges and Elections Committee, denied that the meeting last Thursday in which nominees to the William & Mary Board of Visitors were questioned about Nichol's recent decisions was an attempt to remove the president.

"We never threatened anybody, never made his job removal a litmus test," Cole told AP. "To say we did this just to try to get him fired is ridiculous. It's just sour grapes."

Nichol also criticized the Board of Visitors, the college's governing board, for offering him and his wife "substantial economic incentives" if they would agree to not characterize the decision by the Board as "based on ideological grounds" or make statements about his departure without prior approval from the Board.

The Board of Visitors confirmed Nichol's resignation in its statement Tuesday and said the decision to not renew his contract was "extremely difficult."

"This decision was not in any way based on ideology or any single public controversy. To suggest such a motivation for the Board is flatly wrong," the statement read.

"He is a truly inspirational figure who has enjoyed the affection of many," stated the Board of Visitors.

"After an exhaustive review, however, the Board believed there were a number of problems that were keeping the College from reaching its full potential and concluded that those issues could not be effectively remedied without a change of leadership."

The Board said it would continue supporting a scholarship program for low-income Virginians that was introduced by Nichol and promised to not make changes to the compromise reached on the Wren Chapel's cross.

A conservative pro-family group commended those who took action to end Nichol's controversial term.

"Universities have pushed the envelope in censoring Christianity and promoting pornography. Under the leadership of Gene Nichols, the College of William & Mary, a respected, historic institution, became the poster child of the degradation of higher learning," Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, said in a statement.

Supporting Cole, she added, "Virginia Delegate Mark Cole and his colleagues in the Virginia House of Delegates boldly held the public university accountable and helped bring that institution back on track to focus on education, not demoralizing the students."

Dean W. Taylor Reveley has been appointed as president until a permanent leader is found, said the Board.

Nichol, who taught at William & Mary two decades ago, said he will join the faculty at the college's school of law and resume teaching and writing.