Citing personal health reasons as the impetus behind her resignation, Nichols informed the Board of Regents Wednesday of her decision to step down from the position she has held since September 2000.

“It has been an incredible privilege and the honor of my life to serve as chancellor of the UCCSN,” said Nichols. “We have accomplished so much over the past four years and I believe our eight institutions are fully prepared to continue our System’s tradition of serving Nevada’s citizens and economy.”

In her resignation letter to Dr. Stavros Anthony, chair of the 13-member Board of Regents, Nichols cited that she felt compelled to step down from her position on advice from her physician. Since December 2001, Nichols has suffered from Meniere’s Disease, a condition attributed to a sudden and dramatic loss of hearing and vertigo.

“You never fully appreciate what it is to be incapacitated in some way until it happens to you,” said Nichols. “This hearing loss affects more than my ability to understand what is being said. It is impossible for me to explain how it feels to be exchanging ideas or advocating for our System and find every ounce of my effort is focused on merely trying to interpret what’s being said. Given this handicap, I have come to recognize that I cannot adequately fulfill my responsibilities as chancellor.”

“Although I am saddened by the news of Chancellor Nichol’s resignation, I understand her priorities and fully support her decision. She has made remarkable advances for Nevada higher education and will leave behind a solid foundation for future growth,” said Anthony.

Anthony announced that he will be forming a Board of Regents search committee to begin the process of selecting the next chancellor.

Nichols anticipates returning to the classroom as a tenured faculty member at the University of Nevada, Reno where she began her higher education career in the state.

A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Nichols was appointed by the Board of Regents to serve as the UCCSN's sixth chancellor on September 8, 2000. One of her first priorities as chancellor was to move Nevada higher education from basic planning from legislative session to legislative session to longer range strategic planning.

“Nationwide, higher education is going through a process of re-invention to better meet the needs of the students, businesses, and communities we serve. Meeting those expectations demanded an integrated network of forward-looking campuses and it was Chancellor Nichols who championed the development of the UCCSN Master Plan,” said Anthony.

The Master Plan, originally completed in 2002, provides a 10-year strategy for meeting six key goals for Nevada higher education: a prosperous economy, quality education, opportunity for all, accessible education, P-16 education and building quality of life.

The Master Plan became the guiding document for the UCCSN since its adoption by the Board of Regents. The plan was recently updated to better reflect the needs of Nevadans.

Nichols also focused her energies on improving relations between the state’s four community colleges and two universities. In the past, students often found that their community college courses were not accepted by the universities when they attempted to transfer. Nichols and her staff worked diligently with the institutions to strengthen 2+2 programs which created transfer agreements between the community colleges and universities in order to provide a more seamless system of education.

Before being selected as chancellor, Nichols served from 1997-2000 as the vice chancellor for academic and student affairs. During this time, she served as a representative to the Nevada Commission on Education Technology and was the state director of the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).

Prior to joining the UCCSN in 1997, Nichols was an associate dean for the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Reno. From 1990 to 1995, she was coordinator for the university's core curriculum/university assessment and was an associate professor in the Department of Social Work from 1984 to 1990.

Nichols earned an Ed.D. in higher education with a concentration in administration and statistics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She also holds a master's degree in social work with emphasis in administration and casework from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; and a B.A. (with distinction) in psychology from Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College).

The Nevada Board of Regents is the elected, 13-member governing body for the University and Community College System of Nevada. Comprising two doctoral granting universities, a state college, four comprehensive community colleges and one environmental research institute, the UCCSN serves the educational and job training needs of the nation's fastest growing state. As Nevada's only system of higher education, the UCCSN provides educational opportunities to nearly 98,000 students.

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