June 23, 2025
Dear Students and Colleagues,
It is with great pleasure that I announce the appointment of Dr. William (Bill) Nichols as our next dean of Undergraduate Education and Mary McDermott Cook Chair for Undergraduate Education. Dr. Nichols will assume his responsibilities at UT Dallas on Aug. 1, 2025.
Dr. Nichols received his bachelor’s degree in anthropology and Spanish and his master’s degree in Spanish from the University of Notre Dame. He earned his doctorate in Spanish literature and culture from Michigan State University.
Dr. Nichols comes to us from Georgia State University where he has been on the faculty for 21 years. He most recently served as a professor of Spanish cultural studies and associate dean of the Honors College. From 2013 to 2021, Dr. Nichols was chair of the Department of World Languages and Cultures in the College of Arts and Sciences. He also served as director of graduate studies in modern and classical languages from 2010 to 2013, associate director for graduate student mentoring in the Center for Instructional Innovation from 2012 to 2013 and founding director of the Center for Urban Language Teaching and Research from 2014 to 2022.
Dr. Nichols’ primary research interest focuses on exploring the perceptions of Spain’s modern identity through the interrelation between politics, cultural production and capitalism in contemporary peninsular literature and film, as well as other forms of cultural expression like music and museum expositions. Dr. Nichols has published on diverse themes like detective fiction, corporate culture, tourism, food, genre and globalization. His current research focuses on urban space, tourism and globalization as it is represented and explored in 20th and 21st century Spanish culture. In 2023, Dr. Nichols published a monograph with Vanderbilt University Press titled, The Paradox of Paradise: Creative Destruction and the Rise of Urban Coastal Tourism in Contemporary Spanish Culture.
I would like to thank the Search Committee Chair Dean Donal Skinner and the committee members for their efforts in soliciting, identifying and reviewing a group of excellent candidates, as well as the larger campus community for participating in a comprehensive and thorough interview process. In addition, I would like to thank Dr. Courtney Brecheen who has served as interim dean this past year.
Please join me in congratulating and welcoming Dean Nichols.
Sincerely,
Inga H. Musselman
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
xc: President, Vice Presidents, Deans
