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Wednesday, December 2, 1987 / University Daily Kansan
Campus/Area
At 83, 'Mr. KU' still dedicated to University
By VALORE ARMSTRONG
Staff writer
Many KU chancellors have come and gone. But few have remained as active in University activities as former Chancellor Raymond Nichols.
His acquaintances call him "Mr. KU."
His acquaintances call him "Mr."
"That's because I've been here so long, I've been there 60 years," Nichols said, including his years as an undergraduate. "I feel at home here."
Since his retirement in 1973, Nichols has remained a loyal resource to KU officials and continues to be involved in KU activities.
Nichols graduated from the University of Kansas in 1926 with a bachelor's degree in journalism. Even as an undergraduate, he couldn't resist the lure of getting involved.
While he was student body president, one hurdle he successfully faced was convincing administrators to open the tennis courts on Sunday, he said. He said many people at that time thought tennis on Sunday was inappropriate.
Nichols was also editor of both the Kansan and the Jayhawker and was secretary and president of KU's Phi Beta Kappa chapter.
'U
He's a good man — a thoughtful, serious and kind man who's been dedicated to the University his entire adult life.'
- Carol Shankel managing editor of the art museum
After graduation, Nichols went to work on his hometown paper, the Larned Tiller and Toiler, where he worked for $75 a month, and then moved on to the Kansas City Kansan.
Nichols said he often wondered what would have happened if he had continued in journalism. He'd intended to find his nook in the field and stay there.
Even though he considered attending Kansas State University, he was attracted to KU because of its journalism school.
But when Chancellor Ernest Lindley called Nichols at his job at the Kansas City Kansan and asked him to come to Lawrence to discuss a job at KU, Nichols couldn't resist the ties he felt to his alma mater. He gave up his stab at journalism and took the job of KU executive secretary in 1929. He stayed for 43 years, working with five chancellors.
"My job was to make sure the chancellor didn't make a mistake," he said.
For that near-half century, Nichols oversaw KU's budget, one considerably smaller than the one KU officials face now.
But those first years, during the 1930s, were the most difficult, he said. Because of the nationwide depression, the state government had to KU and all salaries were cut 25 percent.
“Quite a contrast to the recent troubles,” he said, referring to attempts to unionize KU faculty and staff and raise salaries. He said it faculty salaries were back to acceptable levels.
Then in 1972-73, his final years before retirement. Nichols took over KU's top position.
Nichols said it was a difficult time to be chancellor because of the tumult that had occurred at KU in the late 1960s. He said his main concern was being accepted by students.
But by that time they were ready for a change, Nichols said. Students no longer resorted to protest marches and demonstrations. Nichols said.
He said his transition was eased by the support of faculty.
"I knew they were with me," he said.
I knew they were with him, he said,
And Nichols has always been with it.
And Nichols has always been with them; **trem**. His house, right outside the southeast fringes of campus, seems symbolic of his continuity association with KKU. He climbs this office in fall for four years. Although he's on campus now, he lives within reach if KU needs him, or he needs it.
Fred Williams, executive director of the Alumni Association, said he often depended on Nichols' perspective and took advice from him.
"He a person I use to help me understand problems," Williams said. "He has an open mind."
He still is active and attends Alumni Association board meetings, Williams said.
"In retirement, he's devoted himself on a voluntary basis to remaining active within the University."
Kevin Carroll, general manager of the Adams Alumni Center, said Nichols had been instrumental in starting the Retirees Club as its first president.
Raymond Nichols
Several rooms were set aside for retirees when plans were being drawn up for the alumni center and Nichols organized the group to use the rooms. Nichols also was on the building and planning committee for the center.
The people who conceived the idea of the center wanted someone with experience and insight as to what would appeal to faculty, retired faculty and alumni, Carroll said.
Right now, Nichols' list of responsibilities includes honorary trustee of the Kansas University Endowment Association, chairman of the audit committee of the Endowment Association, ex-officio member of the Alumni Association board, chairman of trustees at the Elizabeth Watkins Community Museum downtown and a member of the Retirees Club. Nichols is also chairman of the Retirees Club's oral history project, which three years ago began taping interviews of faculty members with notable careers for University Archives.
Nichols also was asked to write the introduction for "On the Hill," a history of KU by decades that was published in 1983. He said he enjoined such projects.
carol Shankel, managing editor of the art museum who worked on "On the Hill," called Nichols a valuable resource.
"He's a good man — a thoughtful, serious and kind man who's been dedicated to the University his entire adult life," she said.
When asked why people would consider him Mr. KU, she said, "He represents the University and has been devoted. He always represents the best interests of the University to the
At a young 83 years, Nichol carries his age well. It's its nervous energy that has kept him active so long after his tenure as a KU administrator ended, he said.
"I like to stay in touch," he said.
Kansas October job rate droops
The Associated Press
TOPEKA — More seasonal farm laborers and construction workers found themselves out of work in Kansas this fall, driving the state unemployment rate up from 4 percent in September to 4.3 percent in October, the state Department reported Monday.
"A decline in seasonal farm work and construction accounts for most of the employment losses over the month," said Dennis Taylor, secretary of the agency. "However, employment levels are significantly higher than those of the same period last year."
The Kansas unemployment rate in October of last year was 5 percent, with 1,167,237 people employed and 61,643 looking for work.
This year, 1,190,889 people were employed in Kansas in October, down from 1,192,443 in September. And 53,664 people were unemployed, compared with 49,315 the previous month.
The increase in unemployment reversed a downward trend that started in July. Last month, the state's 4 percent unemployment rate hit a five-year low. In August, the jobless rate stood at 4.2 percent, which was a decrease from the July rate of 4.6 percent.
Most industries reported job growth during the month, according to the department. The greatest growth reported was in government, with about 3,900 workers returning to state and local schools following the summer break. Services added 1,000 jobs, despite job losses reported by hotels and other lodging places.
But construction was down more than 1,000 jobs from October 1966 to October 1987. And manufacturing was up about 5,100 jobs.
The number of jobs in the oil and gas extraction industry grew by 1,500 since last October, indicating a comeback by that industry after it was hit by low crude oil prices.
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