William & Mary President Resigns Amid Controversy

By Connect Mason Managing Director Dane Styler

After two and a half years as the College of William & Mary's president, Gene R. Nichol resigned yesterday, February 12, from his position after he was told that the university's Board of Visitors decided against renewing his contract, according to a statement Nichol emailed to the college community.

Nichol claims he was informed of the decision by BOV Rector Michael Powell on Sunday.

“Appropriately, serving the College in the wake of such a decision is beyond my imagining,” Nichol said in the statement. He continues by saying that the reasons for the discontinuation are due to four decisions he made while president, the most recent was his refusal to ban from the campus last week's Sex Workers’ Art Show.

The Flat Hat, William & Mary's student newspaper reported on the decision.

Other controversies he mentions in his statement include the removal of the Wren Cross from a chapel inside the Wren building, "the oldest academic building in continuous use in the United States," according to the college's website. The cross has since been returned as a display.

A group was formed petitioning the non-renewal of Nichol's contract as president.

Nichol has also attracted critical attention from state legislators, who recently called four BOV members to Richmond for questioning before the House Privileges and Elections Committee, according to The Flat Hat.

In response to his resignation, students and faculty are protesting with a sit-in in front of the president's house, according to The Flat Hat, and with a Facebook page devoted to the strike.

More to be posted as events develop.