Del. Marshall's Email Response to Shannon Field

This Email message was sent in response to William & Mary student Shannon Field's query, asking Del. Marshall to stay out of the college's affairs. Sent on Feb. 12, 2008.

"Dear Ms. Field:

My concerns extend beyond the "Sex Workers Art Show" and the removal of the Wren Cross. President Nichol made a false statement to my face about when he learned of the withdrawal of $12 million from the W & M endowment. Additionally, the W & M FOIA Officer withheld information from me in violation of state law which contradicted Nichol's direct statement to me. I believe that there is a pattern of bad judgments that warrants the consideration of President Nichol's removal.

Below is a list of concerns, which is by no means complete, regarding President Nichols performance:

1) Undergrad applications, an indicator of reputation, were up an average of 11% for the public Virginia universities but up only 0.9% at W&M for the 2007 entering class (UVA's were up 10% and GMU's 27%). Student yield at W&M has fallen from 41% to 37% in the past two years (UVA's yield is 51%). Entering W&M freshmen SAT midpoints (1350) and those in the top 10% of their high school class (79%) are stagnant. The top ten Southern school averages are 1363 and 80%, respectively (UVA's is 88%).

2) The College fell 2 points (31=>33) in the most recent US News rankings while the law school (Marshall-Wythe) fell 4 points (27=>31). The Mason School and School of Ed are also down 4 points.

3) Campus recruiting by top industrials, investment banks and management consulting firms is almost nonexistent due to ranking declines. Even Big 4 accounting firm recruiting is now at risk.

4) Nichol's loss of a major donor's $10-12 MM bequest and others kept the Campaign from reaching a much higher level (more than 140 Mason School graduates have officially withdrawn their financial support). The Campaign's growth rate was just 9% in FY 2007 and the Campaign did not raise its goal either of the last two years (UVA always exceeds its targets). The W&M Annual Fund has also missed its $5.0 MM (2006) and $5.2 MM (2007) targets for the past two years. Nichol pre-announced results in February, retracted, withheld in April, promised to wait until June 30th, then pre-announced June 13th.

5) W&M's endowment grew 19% in FY 2007 but most (almost 70%) was from Marshall Acuff's investment returns, not Nichol's fundraising team. W&M fell another point (128=>129) in the 2007 National ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY BUSINESS organizations endowment rankings released in late January 2008. Nichol waited until the BOV meeting on September 27th to release the FY 2007 endowment results even though the fiscal year closed June 30th.

6) The Campaign for W&M has reportedly raised $518 million in the past 7 years but only $235 million (~45%) has accrued to endowment. The internal endowment target, according to the former VP of Development, Dennis Cross, was $250 million. By comparison, UVA's endowment was up more than $2 billion in the past 7 years (2000-07) and its Capital Campaign raised $1.5 billion in less than four years (2004-07). UVA has 2.5x more students but is raising money 8.5x faster than W&M.

7) The Wren Cross Removal and subsequent "compromise" cost the school dearly. More than 18,000 people signed the anti-Nichol STWC online petition -- almost 5,000 were alumni & students – and many of these have turned their backs on the school forever. Only 20% as many signed the pro-Nichol petition. BOV support for Nichol over the needs of the College seriously undermined alumni relations.

8) A March 6, 2007 press release by the W&M University Relations Office (Mike Connolly) made such misleading statements as "This practice is similar to that used by other universities with historic chapels, including the University of Virginia." Truth is, neither UVA nor any other U.S. university with a historic chapel put their cross in a glass case at the time. Further, more than two-thirds (68%) of 28 top public universities display crosses in their chapels. Rector Powell and Alan Meese both denied responsibility.

9) Nichol also let the NCAA pluck the Tribe's feathers (CMU, Florida State & Utah fought for their logos, won, and were reimbursed by the NCAA; there were no reprisals against their student athletes) and pressured the Tribe Club to get rid of its colorful "Brave, Warrior and Chief" giving levels.

10) Nichol and his wife combined cost the school more than $500 thousand per year in compensation -- a job was created for Glenn George at the law school -- not to mention a bloated, overpaid administrative bureaucracy, Religion Committee expenses, excessive travel costs, logo consulting fees, the Summer Retreat, the bias reporting system, etcetera (the College's operating expenses are up 15% in the past 2 years). Also, Nichol's Gateway and Faculty Leave Programs will cost upwards of $8 million per year and the funding source is unclear (tuition hikes? robbing from other scholarship funds or financial aid pools?). Other liabilities include Nichol's 2nd tier academic credentials and poor professional track record (Colorado's law school fell from 35=>47 and almost lost its ABA accreditation under Nichol while Chapel Hill's law school plummeted from 21=>29 in the rankings while he was dean). He also lost two US Congressional races and misrepresented his football career (he was never recruited by the pros).

The school has sustained major damage to alumni relations, fundraising and reputation under the Nichol Administration and is in serious danger of falling further in the rankings. The latest ranking declines should be a wake-up call (GMU is on Marshall-Wythe's heels and Georgia Tech will soon overtake the College). The competition is coming up fast and leadership is critical. Even Arkansas, Louisiana State and Texas Tech have larger endowments. This is a major concern which warrants consideration.

I hope that this information shows you why I have become involved in this issue.

Sincerely,

Delegate Bob Marshall"