The Reviews Are Mixed As College's Drama Wraps

After a three-year tenure marked by controversy and change, Gene R. Nichol resigned Tuesday as president of the College of William and Mary. (Photo by Steve Helber/AP)

Those were things the board strongly supported, board member Jeff Trammell said. "We have a very diverse board, many of whom have been very active in progressive causes for years. . . . They are African American, white, women, men, Christian, Jewish, straight, gay."

The real issue was management, Trammell said. In Nichol's evaluation, "one of the things that came up frequently was that President Nichol, in his exuberance, would announce things without the follow-through behind them. Including funding."

Last week a Virginia House committee grilled several board members about Nichol and decisions he had made, including the sex workers' show.

"Though defeat may at times come," Nichol wrote, "it is crucial not to surrender to the loud and the vitriolic and the angry -- just because they are loud and vitriolic and the angry."

Reveley, the interim president, said there's a lot of emotion on campus, so he's reassuring people that the school's goals haven't changed even as he prepares to parachute into work with the General Assembly in a difficult budget year. "My main job right now is to bring people back together again," he said.

On campus, many said they're just glad all the controversies will finally stop. Or will they?

Some students made signs with such slogans as, "Our values are not for sale." They talked about fighting for freedom of expression.

And alumna Bruno said that with a new presidential search, "it's imperative that we keep our eyes on the board of visitors who hired Nichol in the first place.

"It's not over," she said. "People want to say it's over, but actually, this is the beginning."