James Lawson Conrad, Sr. (November 28, 1900 – April 19, 1974) was an American academic administrator, who notably served as the first president of Nichols College from 1931 to 1966.
[1] In 1923, Conrad became a member of the Quartermaster Corps of the United States Army, where he rose to the rank of Colonel.
In 1938, during Conrad's tenure, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts authorized Nichols to award an Associate Degree in Business Administration.
Conrad Hall, now the location of the Nichols College Office of Advancement, was named after its first president.
[5] Conrad married Annette Bolduc, with whom he had one son: James "Jim" Lawson, Jr. (1932-2016), who worked as a history professor and administrator at Nichols College.