RODNEY NICHOLS

NICHOLS--Rodney W.

The Rockefeller University community is deeply saddened by the death of our cherished friend Rod Nichols. Rod was Vice President and Executive Vice President of Rockefeller University from 1970 to 1992, during the presidencies of the late Frederick Seitz and Joshua Lederberg. After leaving Rockefeller, Rod continued his involvement with science as a member of the executive committee of the Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government, and as President and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences. During his distinguished tenure at Rockefeller, Rod was involved with many institution-shaping initiatives, and he left an enduring imprint on the University. Working closely with Drs. Seitz and Lederberg, as well as the late David Rockefeller, Rod oversaw the construction of several campus buildings, notably Faculty House, Scholars Residence, and the Rockefeller Research Building. Rod also played a leading role in the recruitment of some of Rockefeller's most exceptional faculty, including the University's most recent Nobel laureate, Michael W. Young. We are enormously grateful that Rod remained an active member of our extended campus family until his death. He served with distinction as a member of The Rockefeller University Council, an important advisory group comprised of leaders in the business and philanthropic communities. Recently, Rod helped design and lead the Hurford Science Diplomacy Initiative, a course for Rockefeller graduate students and postdoctoral fellows that explores the ways in which science and technology intersect with and advance international affairs. A Harvard graduate and a physicist by training, Rod was a true renaissance man, knowledgeable on an extraordinarily broad range of subjects--from science and technology to education, history, international affairs, and the arts. We will miss Rod's fierce intelligence as well as his wit, humor, and compassion. We send our heartfelt sympathy to Rod's beloved wife, Karen; his son, Christopher, and daughter-in-law, Elizabeth; his stepdaughters Lily and Courtney; his brother, George; and his entire family. William E. Ford, Chair Richard P. Lifton, President Torsten N. Wiesel, President Emeritus Jesse H. Ausubel, Program Director and Senior Research Associate Marnie Imhoff, Senior Vice President for Development