Office of the President

Laurie Nichols

(May 2016 - June 2019)

Laurie Nichols was the President of the University of Wyoming from May 2016 - June 2019. Nichols was born and raised in South Dakota. A first-generation college graduate, she received a bachelor’s degree in education from South Dakota State University in 1978. She then earned a master’s degree in vocational and adult education from Colorado State University in 1984 and a Ph.D. in family and consumer sciences education from Ohio State University in 1988.

President Nichols began her career in higher education as a member of the faculty of the University of Idaho from 1988 to 1994. She then became the Dean of the SDSU College of Education and Human Sciences from 1994 to 2008. From August 2008 through June 2009, she served as interim president of Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and then returned to SDSU to become Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs from 2009 to 2016. While in that role, she guided the university through two years of budget reductions and provided leadership in developing new five-year strategic plans, among other accomplishments.

Laurie Nichols began her duties as the University of Wyoming’s 26^th president May 16, 2016. She and her husband, Dr. Tim Nichols, have two adult daughters.

For President Nichols' curriculum vitae, click here.

Predecessor: Richard McGinity

Successor: Neil Theobald