As many have probably already seen, the President of the College of William and Mary, Gene Nichol, resigned his position today following a Board of Visitors vote not to renew his contract. Looking at reports from the state and talking to students and faculty on the ground, it is tough see this as anything more than an attempt to restrict the free exchange of ideas on the William and Mary campus. If that is the case, it is a truly unfortunate decision.
President Nichol
has been under pressure and scrutiny over the past year because of the
political implications of some of his decisions—not because the university’s
rankings have diminished, because students are complaining that their education
has suffered, because the research the college produces has become sub-standard
or because he’s been unable to keep the university on sound
financial/administrative ground. In fact, the students and faculty just
organized a large vigil on his behalf and according to the Student Assembly
president, "I
think the student body and faculty are behind Nichol 110 percent." Instead,
President Nichol has been attacked because he had the Wren Cross removed from a
public university building and allowed students to hold a student-organized and
student fee-funded event called the “Sex Workers Art Show.” While it is
not surprising that these events have yielded some controversy, attacking the
President and the university for them is clearly an attack on academic freedom
and free speech.
We could say more,
but fortunately, President Nichol has issued his own statement, published in
the campus paper.