University of Wyoming president Nichols to step down

University of Wyoming President Laurie Nichols will step down and take a faculty job when her contract expires June 30.

UW officials announced the change Monday. Nichols says in a press release she is proud of enrollment growth, new degree programs and other accomplishments during her three years at Wyoming’s only four-year, public university.

Neither Nichols nor the university offered reasons why she was stepping down.

Nichols was the first woman to hold the job and the fourth UW president in a five-year period. Her base salary was $350,000 a year.

University trustees in 2018 refused to release an evaluation of Nichols to the public, saying the document was confidential by law.

Nichols was provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at South Dakota State University from 2009-2016.