Mistaken about Mistakes

(Published in the Gazette as "Downplaying Mistakes")

A blitz of newspaper interviews for Gene Nichol, president of The College of William and Mary, looks like a boon.  A front page article with color photos is an attention-getter, no doubt.

A genial Gene graced the Gazette while a glum Gene posed for the Daily Press (Sept 12, 2007) – both shots, presumably, deliberately selected to portray the man as either care-free or looking for a pat on the back accompanied by the tender words, “There, there. It’ll be alright.”

The message Nichol wants most for us to hear is that he’s learning, that he’s just tryin’ hard, gosh darn it, to be good and doesn’t everyone make mistakes?  Aw, shucks.

Well, yes and no.

Everyone makes mistakes, yes. A mistake is putting on two different colored socks in the morning and not noticing until someone points it out at lunch. A mistake is driving the wrong way on a one-way road in an unfamiliar city when you didn’t see the signs. A mistake is thinking that euthanasia has something to do with young people in China.

But no, Gene Nichol’s mistakes are character flaws, not mistakes at all: not listening to overwhelming alumni dissent over the Wren Cross; not listening to his vice-presidents when they have serious concerns; not listening to anyone who disagrees with whatever Gene Nichol has decided he wants to do; not answering phone calls or email or letters from concerned alumni, whether rich or middle class; losing millions in donations from disaffected alumni; acting rashly, without thought or consultation, on important issues like installing Provost Geoffrey Feiss as co-president; insisting that there is nothing inconsistent with pulling a cross from a Christian Chapel because it might cause controversy and then defending the Sex Workers Show because it is controversial.

Another message is also clear: Nichol is feeling the pressure from such groups as ShouldNicholBeRenewed.org who enumerate his past “mistakes” such as his tenure as dean of two large law schools that took a tumble with his brand of leadership. He is feeling the heat of the local community who find him abrasive, divisive, and disruptive. At the first home football game of the season a few weeks ago, he was ostracized on the sidelines as he tried to glad-hand the team, passersby, and the media – all of whom left him standing near the end zone alone for most of the second half.

Nichol is learning – that I believe. He’s learning that William and Mary graduates are far more intelligent, resourceful, and willing to step up for their beloved College than he ever imagined possible. He’s learning that you can’t be reactive and be a strong president. He’s learning that leadership means more than shaking hands, having a beer, or schmoozing the orchestra at a theater event. He’s learning that the College and local community are tired of his “mistakes” and that it is perhaps time for the Board of Visitors to implement the 90-day notice clause in his contract.

Let Nichol go. The only mistake left to be made is keeping him.

The Virginia Gazette Sept. 15, 2007