On February 10, 2008, the College of William & Mary’s Board of Visitors informed President Gene Nichol that they would not be renewing his contract in July.  Rather than serve out his contract as a lame duck, President Nichol elected to resign.  Make no mistake, the President did not resign - he was fired by the Board in an act of extreme cowardice, as they elected to cave to a group of conservative critics rather than take a stand for academic freedom and free expression of ideas.  President Nichol was fired because he tried to make Wren Chapel open and accommodating to all, Christians and non-Christians alike; because he refused to censor speech that some found offensive and because he tried to make the College less male and less white.  All of these actions offended a vocal minority of social conservatives (many with an affiliation with James Dobson and Pat Robertson, but with no affiliation with William & Mary).

The Board compounded its cowardly action by trying to silence President Nichol, offering the ex-President and his wife “substantial economic incentives if [they] would agree ‘not to characterize [the non-renewal decision] as based on ideological grounds’ or make any other statement about [Nichols'] departure without their approval.”

There’s little that concerned members of the W&M family can do to reverse the decision, as the die was cast as soon as President Nichol crossed the wrong people.  We can, however, send the College a message where it hurts.  Don’t give any money to the Campaign for William & Mary.  Send the Development Office a message letting them know why.  Doing this may be seen as hurting current students, many of whom support the President.  You may choose, therefore, to give directly to your department.  Here’s a handy list of W&M departments.  Click any link to give via credit card:

Arts & Sciences

• American Studies
• Anthropology
• Applied Science
• Art and Art History
• Biology
• Black Studies
• Charles Center
• Chemistry
• Classical Studies
• Computer Science
• Economics
• English
• Environmental Science and Policy
• Geology
• Government
• History
• International Relations
• Kinesiology
• Mathematics
• Military Science
• Modern Languages
• Music
• Neuroscience
• Philosophy
• Physics
• Psychology
• Public Policy
• Religious Studies
• Sociology
• Theatre, Speech and Dance
• Women’s Studies

Mason School of Business

School of Law

School of Education

Virginia Institute of Marine Science