Nichols surpasses fundraising goal at $66M

Photo | Courtesy | Nichols College Nichols College's campus in Dudley

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By Grant Welker

When Nichols College launched a fundraising campaign in 2015, it set a goal of $45 million. It surpassed that in just two years, and six years later, the campaign is wrapping up with a total of $66 million.

The Dudley school, which announced the end of the campaign Wednesday, said the campaign was ambitious to begin with: The initial goal was already more than triple the amount of the school's biggest campaign until that point.

Ultimately, the fundraising allowed Nichols to pay for a new academic building, the Fels Student Center, and major renovations and upgrades to Lombard Dining Hall and to athletic facilities.The number of endowed scholarships was significantly increased, from 21 to 83, and new academic offerings were added, including learning programs such as the Nichols Consulting Group and the Center for Intelligent Process Automation, and co-curricular initiatives including the Institute for Women’s Leadership and the Emerging Leaders Program.

Nichols has separately created a scholarship program for Becker College students who transfer to Nichols this fall after Becker said it will cease operations after this spring. Alumnus Robert Kuppenheimer has committed $100,000, with plans for awards of $2,000 for commuters and $4,00 for resident students. Nichols has also offered to take up to 90 transfers credits from Becker students and provide a free summer course.

Nichols announced on Friday that Glenn Sulmasy, a provost at Bryant University, will be its next president starting this summer. He'll replace Susan West Engelkemeyer, who is retiring after a decade leading the school.