Gene Ray Nichol, Jr. (born May 11, 1951)[1] is an American lawyer and educator who served as the twenty-sixth president of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States.

provide[s] a combination of institutional, state and federal grants for low- and middle-income students who have the desire to attend a world-class university without incurring debt.

"[7] Nichol's October 2006 decision to change a long-standing university policy by removing a cross from permanent display on the altar of the Chapel in the Wren Building ended his first year as president in controversy.

He explained that a cross in the chapel of a public university made some students of other religious traditions feel unwelcome in a place considered by the community to be an important part of campus.

[8] Under the new policy, the cross would be displayed only in the chapel during Christian religious services, or upon request, in an effort to make the space more welcoming to groups of mixed faith.

[9] Stories had surfaced that Nichol knew of the revoked donation before he announced that the Fund for William and Mary met its $500 million fundraising goal.

Comprising students, faculty, staff, and alumni, the committee was charged with examining the "role of religion in a public university" in general, and at William & Mary in particular.

[13] On March 6, 2007, William & Mary announced that the committee had recommended that the cross be returned to Wren Chapel as an artifact displayed in a glass case, with a plaque explaining the college's Anglican heritage and historical connection to Bruton Parish Church.

"[15] Nichol's allowance of the Sex Workers' Art Show to perform on the campus garnered mixed reactions among both the general public and the college student body.

[17] Statewide, the Virginia House of Delegates (specifically the Privileges and Elections Committee) effectively "threatened"[15] the Board of Visitors' appointees if they refused to fire Nichol over the surrounding controversies during his tenure, culminating with the Sex Workers' Art Show.

[15][18] Nichol's permission to allow a cabaret-style burlesque show on campus also offended many of the college's more conservative alumni, which resulted in some loss of endowment.

[22] Matt Marvin, a UNC Law School spokesperson, said that all of the controversy surrounding Nichol did not alarm them and that they welcomed him back to the university.

[22] In his resignation letter, Nichol claimed that the Board of Visitors had offered him money to stay silent on the reason he was fired, freedom of speech.

He also claimed members of the Board of Visitors had been threatened by legislators if they did not order his resignation, and that the Virginia government was unhappy with his efforts to diversify the student body and faculty.

[25] W. Taylor Reveley, III, then dean of the law school, was named as the interim president of the college after Nichol's resignation.