Preserving history through students
Michael Nicholls, who received his doctoral degree at the College of William and Mary in 1972, has made an impact on students as a history teacher at Utah State University since the fall of 1970.
Nicholls said he chose to come to Utah State University after being offered teaching jobs both from USU and Santa Clara, a Catholic school in California. He said Catholic schools at that time were not as financially secure as state institutions.
He received his master’s degree at the University of Dayton, which is also a Catholic university, which let him view the insecurity in Catholic higher education from firsthand experience.
A more important reason for choosing USU, he said, was because of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, which at the time was known as the Genealogical Society Library.
“The chance to have fairly easy access to that was a real important consideration for me,” Nicholls said.
Nicholls has been the director of graduate studies for the history department since 1999.
“I have worked with Dr. Nicholls both as a graduate student and an undergraduate student,” Sarah Murray, a graduate student in history, said. “I got to know Dr. Nicholls during my first semester back and was impressed by his support and kindness to me,”
Murray said, “I feel that he has been a support to me throughout my time here at USU. One of the reasons I chose to stay here for my master’s degree is the quality of professors, like Dr. Nicholls, that the history department has.”
Originally from southern Iowa, Nicholls said he had fully intended to go to law school after surrounding himself with lawyers while serving as a page in the Iowa Legislature.
However, Nicholls said, in his senior year at Cedarville College, where he received his bachelor’s degree, he was influenced by a “really good” early American history teacher.
He said the main reason he chose history as his emphasis had to do with the quality of teaching he received from his teacher.
“I think students are attracted into disciplines many times by the quality of a specific class that gets them excited about a set of questions or an approach to the world and it entrances them so they decide that is what they want to do,” Nicholls said.
After being admitted to both law school and the University of Dayton, he chose to go to graduate school.
Nicholls was offered a full-time assistant position which paid all tuition and fees and allowed him to be full-time graduate student, he said. His wife had secured a teaching job in the local community, which aided him in being a full-time student as well, he said.
“Her work through graduate school was absolutely essential for my success as a graduate student,” he said.
Nicholls said he hopes to go on sabbatical next year, and if he does, he said he plans to step down from the position of director of graduate studies.
“The biggest challenge for a teacher is to never let the students know when you are bored with a subject,” he said. “What you have to do with the students is convey to them the intellectual excitement that you have for your particular interests, but to carry that through all that you teach.”
Nicholls added, “If you have expressed enthusiasm, and the kind of joy of discovery, analysis and critical thinking that comes by looking at anything, you can make a student more interested in the topic than what they otherwise would be.”
Amy Mitchell, a history senior, said Nicholls has changed her academic perspective.
“I was encouraged to take one of his courses by my father, who took an American history course from him 30 years ago,” Mitchell said. “Dr. Nicholls is both challenging and fair, someone I trust and want to work hard for. His passion for the subject matter is contagious, and he always encourages discussion and participation. I feel like he understands and appreciates what it means to be a teacher.”
In his past, Nicholls enjoyed hiking, fishing, and bird hunting in his spare time.
“To me, the falls here in Utah are probably my favorite time of year,” he said. “The joy is just getting outdoors and having the chance to leave other obligations behind momentarily as you go out and refresh yourself.”
Nicholls also enjoys traveling, and has a specific interest in architecture and design issues.
“There is always that house you want to build, and that’s why I look at architecture compilations,” he said.
As far as the role of education, Nicholls said as a professor, he would want students to be not only hard working, but also intellectually curious.
“I want students to see that education is not something that has to lead to a specific job, but rather something that engages and trains the mind so that no matter what role one finds him or herself playing in the future, that education has contributed in some way to letting you play that role more effectively than a person without the opportunities to acquire the same education.”
Nicholls received Teacher of the Year and Outstanding Faculty Member awards in 2001 from the university. He has also authored and co-authored many academic publications.
For a list of these publications, or to contact Nicholls, visit the history department, their Web site at www.usu.edu/history, or email him at nicholls@hass.usu.edu.
-amking@cc.usu.edu