Dr. Russell L. Nichols is currently serving as the Interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Concordia University, Ann Arbor, a role which he undertook in February 2010. Nichols has more than four decades of experience in higher education with thirty of those years being spent in administrative roles.
Nichols received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wabash College in 1963. He went on to pursue a Master of Science at Purdue University, graduating in 1967. In 1975, he completed a Doctorate of Philosophy from Purdue.
Nichols work in higher education began in 1964 at Wabash College. He then went to Eastern Illinois University, and on to Hillsdale College in Michigan. He served as President of Hanover College in Indiana from 1987 until his retirement in 2007. During his tenure with Hanover College, Nichols led the efforts of two strategic plans that expanded the institution’s financial resources as well as revitalized the overall academic experience, helping to move Hanover into the top 100 liberal arts colleges in the country. In his retirement, Nichols served Tusculum College as Interim President from 2007-2009 before joining Concordia in 2010.
Nichols has been awarded five honorary Doctorates from Hillsdale College, Wabash College, Tusculum College, Hanover College, and Purdue University. He has been twice named Kentucky Colonel, the highest honor awarded by the state of Kentucky; and twice named Sagamore of Wabash, an honorary award from the state of Indiana. The Kentucky Colonel and Sagamore of the Wabash awards are based on noteworthy accomplishments and outstanding service to the community and are bestowed by the Governor.
Nichols and his wife, Patricia, are parents of two children and grandparents of three granddaughters.
Contact the Office of the President at 734-995-7331.