In a speech earlier this month during a workshop for college law deans, former College President Gene Nichol vented about his negative experiences with Virginia legislators and major donor Jim McGlothlin while in office.
“I have been recruited off and on for various university presidencies,” Nichol said. “But until four or five years ago, I always said ‘no;’ explaining I was pretty sure being a law school dean was a better job than being a university president.
“But then I succumbed and moved to that other level,” Nichol said. “Let me just say, for your own personal career planning purposes, nothing in my experience of recent years has done anything to indicate I was at all wrong in my initial assessment. So do yourselves, and your families, and your law schools, and the American Bar Association, and young lawyers everywhere, a favor — stay where you are.”
Nichol’s beef with McGlothlin, who withdrew $12 million over the Wren cross controversy, rounded out his presentation at the very end.
“Or, how some hideously wealthy, how shall I put it, ‘ass’ believes he might want to throw his checkbook around freedoms. These are sweet pleasures too delicious to be easily surrendered.”
