Purdue News
Purdue News
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October 23, 2001 Engineering alum endows School of Education professorshipWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – An engineering alumnus is continuing his tradition of giving to Purdue University by endowing a professorship in the School of Education. Davis Edward Nichols, a 1958 doctoral degree graduate in industrial engineering, has given $1.6 million to create the Charles R. Hicks Professorship in the school. Hicks was one of Nichols' professors during his doctoral program.
"It is quite an honor for the School of Education to be receiving this gift," said Jerry L. Peters, interim dean. "As we prepare the future educators of our world, we try to remind them that as teachers they will have the opportunity to touch peoples' lives. "Ed Nichols wasn't an education major. Endowing this professorship clearly says that Charlie Hicks touched Ed's life in a monumental way. We couldn't be more pleased that one of our distinguished colleagues is being recognized for the work he did while at Purdue." Hicks currently is a professor emeritus of education and statistics. He retired from the classroom in 1985. "While Ed was working on his doctorate, I held a quarter-time position in industrial engineering," Hicks said. "This is such a surprise to me, especially since I didn't spend very much time in the engineering area. "Ed was one of those students that I took under my wing, and I sat on his faculty committee for his dissertation, but I had pretty much lost track of him until I got the call that he wanted to endow something in my name." Since Hicks is affiliated with three different schools at Purdue, he had the opportunity to select where his named position would be. "Long before there was a School of Education, I was the head of the Department of Education for more than 10 years," he said. "I love teaching and spent the majority of my Purdue career in the education department, so when I was asked which school the named position should be in, there was no question that it had to be the School of Education." This is only the second named faculty position within the school and earnings from the gift will help fund the salary of the professor who holds the position. The gift's principal will remain intact in perpetuity. Purdue President Martin C. Jischke said endowed academic chairs and professorships are one of the measures of a world-class university. "The importance of named chairs cannot be stressed enough," he said. "These positions are the ultimate peer recognition for faculty, and we use them to reward, retain and recruit professors who excel in teaching, research and service." One of the university's strategic initiatives is to increase the number of endowed chairs and professorships. Purdue has 69 distinguished and named professorships that are either fully endowed, partially endowed or annually funded. By contrast, Indiana University has 347. The University of Illinois has 219; the University of Michigan, 245; Penn State University, 208; Georgia Institute of Technology, 76. Nichols' current gift is the third professorship he has endowed for the university. In 1988, he created the Maxine Spencer Nichols Professorship in Chemical Engineering to honor his wife, who earned a Purdue bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in 1949. In 1999, Nichols created the Harold T. Amrine Professorship in Industrial Engineering to honor another former professor who sat on his dissertation committee. Nichols is a retired industrial engineering professor from the University of Rhode Island. He started Rhode Island's industrial engineering department in 1959 and retired in 1990. Nichols was the driving force behind the construction of the Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Industrial Engineering Building on that campus. Nichols was close friends with the Gilbreths, who were early pioneers in motion study, which developed into what is now known as industrial engineering. Lillian Gilbreth was a professor of industrial engineering at Purdue, and the family was the subject of the book "Cheaper by the Dozen." Purdue's School of Education began as the Department of Education in 1908. It now offers bachelor's degrees in elementary, social studies and special education. The departments of Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Studies also offer graduate-level courses and degrees. The school serves more than 2,500 students with more than 70 faculty members. The announcement was made as part of Discover Purdue, a yearlong effort to showcase the university's programs and possibilities. Writer: Jenny Pratt, (765) 494-2079, jmpratt@purdue.edu Sources: Jerry L. Peters, (765) 494-2336, peters@purdue.edu Charles R. Hicks, (765) 497-0264 Martin C. Jischke, (765) 494-9708 NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: A publication-quality photograph of Charles R. Hicks is available at the News Service ftp site. Photo ID: hicks.c.jpeg Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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