Nichols College is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

business college A business college is a school that provides education above the high school level but could not be compared to that of a traditional university or college. Unlike universities and even junior and community colleges, business colleges typically ...

Dudley, Massachusetts Dudley is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,921 at the 2020 census. History Dudley was first settled in 1714 and was officially incorporated in 1732. The town was named for landholders Paul and Wil ...

. Founded in 1815 as Nichols Academy, Nichols College offers both bachelor's and master's degrees, as well as certificate programs.

History

Nichols Academy

The institution was established in 1815 as Nichols Academy. Its founder was Amasa Nichols, a wealthy

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through per ...

from

Dudley Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. Other early benefactors of the academy included textile manufacturers such as

Samuel Slater Samuel Slater (June 9, 1768 – April 21, 1835) was an early English-American industrialist known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution" (a phrase coined by Andrew Jackson) and the "Father of the American Factory System". In the ...

. A Universalist, Amasa Nichols intended for the school to be center for Universalist education. He resigned his position as an academy trustee in 1823, after non-Universalists were admitted to the board of directors. Nichols Academy subsequently became a private academy offering either a " classical" or "English" education to both male and female students ages 12 to 21. After free public schools opened in the surrounding area, enrollment dropped, and Nichols Academy trustees arranged with the town for the school to serve as the Dudley town high school beginning in 1871, an arrangement that lasted until 1909 when the academy closed its doors. The campus buildings, designed by such architects as Elbridge Boyden and

Charles F. Wilcox Charles F. Wilcox (1845–1905) was an U.S. state, American architect practicing in Providence, Rhode Island. Life Wilcox was born in 1845 in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, to a family that relocated to Providence in his infancy. He tra ...

, were then used by the town and leased to other educational institutions over time.

Nichols College

In 1931, James L. Conrad reorganized the school into Nichols Junior College of Business Administration and Executive Training, a two-year college, located on the Nichols Academy campus. The purpose of the school was to be a men-only, junior college for business education. In 1938, the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts ( Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' E ...

authorized Nichols Junior College to award an

Associate Degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. Th ...

Business Administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

. Over time, the college purchased, constructed, and remodeled over forty-four buildings that would shape most of the current campus. In 1958, the school became known as Nichols College, a four-year college with the authority to grant a

Bachelor of Business Administration Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanced ...

degree. In 1965, Nichols became accredited by the

New England Association of Schools and Colleges The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. (NEASC) is a United States' regional accreditation association providing educational accreditation. NEASC serves over 1500 public, independent schools, and technical/career institutions ...

, and became a member of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA) in the following year. In 1971, the school became co-educational, and the state authorized the college to award the degrees of

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

in Business Administration, and Bachelor of Science in

Public Administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment ( public governance), management of non-profit es ...

. In 1974, Nichols received the authority to grant the degree of

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

. The college was accredited by the

International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education The International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE), formerly the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education, is an educational accreditation agency for college and university business programs founded in 1997. It ...

in 2005. In 2007, the college was granted authority to offer the degree of Master of Science in Organizational Leadership, and in 2017, the degree of Master of Science in Counterterrorism. Since 1961, Nichols College has run the Alpha Pi chapter of the

Delta Mu Delta Delta Mu Delta () is an international honor society that recognizes academic excellence in Baccalaureate, Master's, and Doctorate degree business administration programs at Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP)-accredited ...

honor society for business programs. Since 1980, it has also run their local chapter of the

Alpha Phi Sigma Alpha Phi Sigma () (Phi is pronounced "fi") is the only Criminal Justice Honor Society accredited by the Association of College Honor Societies. Traditionally a national organization serving United States universities, recent expansion into Canadi ...

honor society for criminal justice programs. In 1980, the school established the Institute for American Values, later renamed the Robert C. Fischer Policy and Cultural Institute in 1999, as a space for students to think critically about contemporary world issues. In 2013, the Institute for Women's Leadership was established with the goal of developing the leadership potential of female students. In that same year, the school hosted the Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education Conference.

Presidents

Academics

Nichols College offers two undergraduate degrees: a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) and a Bachelor of Arts (BA). The school also offers two graduate degrees: a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and a Master of Science (MS). Certificates are also offered in similar disciplines. The college also offers a four-year Professional Development Seminar (PDS) program of single-credit academic courses. First-year students receive mentoring with the transition to college, and then focus on developing a professional brand in their second year. The third year explores refining interviewing and networking skills, and the final year focuses on career and life after college.

Campus

The 200-acre Nichols College campus is separated into North and South Campus, which are divided by the Fels Student Center. Opened in 2012, Fels is centrally located on the Nichols campus. At 30,000 square feet, the center houses the departments of student services, residential life, career services, club meetings spaces, food services, student lounges, a bookstore, and

WNRC-LP WNRC-LP (97.5 FM) is a radio station licensed to serve Dudley, Massachusetts. The station is owned by Nichols College. It airs a college radio format, 24/7 in stereo. The station was assigned the WNRC-LP call letters by the Federal Communicatio ...

, the

campus radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

station. North Campus consists of ten college buildings, most of which are academic halls. The southernmost point is marked by Conrad Hall, while the westernmost is Conant Library. Along with Academy Hall, they are the oldest buildings on campus. South Campus consists of twelve buildings. The northernmost structure is the Currier Center, the southernmost is Kuppenheimer Hall, and the easternmost is the Athletic and Fitness Center.

Athletics

Nichols College Athletics—known as the Bison—offers a variety of sports for men and women, as well as coeducational ones. The Athletic and Fitness Center within North Campus includes Levy Rink, Robinson Tennis Courts, and Michael Vendetti Field, a multipurpose turf field used for field hockey, football, and lacrosse. The Bison compete within the

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their ...

, and since 1995, have been a member of the

Commonwealth Coast Conference The Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division III. Member institutions are located in New England in the states of Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, with a Connectic ...

(CCC). The men's volleyball team plays within the

New England Collegiate Conference The New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) is an NCAA Division III college athletic conference based in the Northeastern United States. History In June 2007, nine colleges from New England announced the creation of a new athletic conferen ...

(NECC). In terms of club sports, the club golf team competes in the National Collegiate Club Golf Association (NCCGA), the men's rugby team is part of the

New England Rugby Football Union The New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU) is a Geographical Union (GU) for rugby union teams in New England. Prior to 2013, NERFU had been a local area union ("LAU"), and part of the Northeast Rugby Union (NRU), which is the governing body fo ...

(NERFU). Former memberships include the

Colonial Hockey Conference The Colonial Hockey Conference (CHC) was an athletic conference that operated in the northeastern United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division III as an ice hockey-only conference and included only women's teams. The formation of the ...

(CHC),

Commonwealth Coast Football Commonwealth Coast Football (CCC Football) was a single-sport athletic conference that competed in football in the NCAA's Division III. It began play as CCC Football in 2017 after the New England Football Conference (NEFC) was renamed following t ...

(CCF),

Eastern College Athletic Conference The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 15 sports (13 men's and 13 women's). It has 220 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location fr ...

(ECAC), the

New England Hockey Conference New England Hockey Conference (formerly the ECAC East) is a college athletic conference which operates in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division III as a hockey-only conference. __TOC__ History The New Englan ...

(NEHC), and the Worcester Collegiate Hockey League (WCHL). Currently, the school offers eleven men's sports:

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, cross country, football,

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

, soccer,

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

, and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

. There are also ten women's sports: basketball, cross country,

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer,

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. Coeducational athletics include

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

and esports, which competes within the

National Association of Collegiate Esports The National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) is a North American collegiate esports association founded in 2016. It is a nonprofit membership association organized by and on behalf of its members. With its members they are developing stru ...

. Both men's and women's teams have won numerous CCC championships. The men's tennis squad won eight consecutive titles through the 2011–2012 to 2018–2019 seasons, and the women's team has won four titles in 2010-2011, 2016-2017, 2017–2018, and 2018-2019. The men's basketball team claimed three consecutive titles from 2016 to 2017 through 2018-2019, and the men's hockey team was victorious in 2017-2018. Men's soccer has won two titles in 2010 and 2014, and the women won three times, namely in 1996 and 2002. The women's field hockey team also lifted a trophy in 2009. Outside of the CCC, men's hockey has won three

ECAC Northeast The ECAC Northeast was an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III as a hockey-only conference. For many years it was one of the three men's hockey conferences that operated under the umbrella of the Eastern Col ...

Championships in 2008-2009, 2013-2014, and 2014-2015, as well as the WCHL Tournament in 1971. Notable head coaches of the men's football team include: Hal Chalmers (1947-1958), Harry Gaffney (1959-1961), Michael Vendetti (1962-1985), and

Jim Crowley James Harold "Sleepy Jim" Crowley (September 10, 1902 – January 15, 1986) was an American football player and coach. He gained fame as one-fourth of the University of Notre Dame's legendary "Four Horsemen" backfield where he played halfback fr ...

(1993-1995).

Notable people

Faculty

* Jeffrey Hart (English) * Mauri S. Pelto (environmental science)

Alumni

Academy

* Sullivan Ballou,

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

soldier * Henry Harrison Brown, author * John R. Thayer, member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

College

Jay Accorsi John "Jay" Accorsi Jr. (born October 1, 1963) is an American former college football coach. He was the head football coach at Rowan University, an NCAA Division III program in Glassboro, New Jersey. He began coaching at Rowan in 2002, and in hi ...

(1984), college football coach * Hal Chalmers (1936), college football coach * Charles Drake (1937),

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

Kenny Dykstra Kenneth George Doane (born March 16, 1986) is an American retired professional wrestler signed to WWE as a producer and as a trainer at the WWE Performance Center. During his past time in WWE, he was known as Kenny Dykstra and Kenny as a membe ...

(2016), professional

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spor ...

Fred Friendly Fred W. Friendly (born Ferdinand Friendly Wachenheimer, October 30, 1915 – March 3, 1998) was a president of CBS News and the creator, along with Edward R. Murrow, of the documentary television program '' See It Now''. He originated the concep ...

(1936), former president of CBS News * Paul King (1985),

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

referee *

Joseph Petty Joseph M. Petty is an American attorney, politician and the current mayor of Worcester, Massachusetts. Early life and education Raised in Worcester, Petty graduated from Holy Name Central Catholic High School. He attended Nichols College and ...

, mayor of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

Bob Sharp Robert Sharp (born October 1894, date of death unknown) was a football manager of Bradford City who also served as Deputy Lord Mayor of Bradford. He was a football visionary who called for the introduction of Third and Fourth Divisions 12 ye ...

(1963), professional racing driver * Robert Stansky (1978), manager of the Fidelity Magellan Fund * Sam Walther (2020), professional

player

References

External links

*
Official athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols College Nichols College 1815 establishments in Massachusetts Educational institutions established in 1815