Released January 13, 1999

Centre College to Honor Katherine Nichols

DANVILLE, KY -- Centre College has honored longtime Danville resident Katherine Nichols with the dedication of a renovated dining room in the Cowan Dining Commons.

In a ceremony held on campus Wednesday, Jan. 13, the college officially named the Katherine C. Nichols Dining Room. The Nichols Dining Room is a portion of the dining hall formerly known as the president's dining room. With seating for up to 100 people, the room is heavily used for meetings and special events.

The dedication honored Nichols' service to Centre during 40 years as a faculty member and administrator, as well as her continuing work as a volunteer.

Born in Knoxville, Nichols earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Tennessee. She was invited to join the Centre faculty in 1945 to teach home economics at what was then a separate women's campus.

During the four decades that followed, Nichols used her considerable talents to take on many roles for the college. She was dean of women for 11 years and carried related duties as director of housing and director of food services. When the women's campus merged with Centre's main campus, Nichols made a lasting impact on the college by creating and managing a unified approach to landscaping and interior design for the college. Today many of the trees and other plantings that grace the Centre campus are a credit to Nichols' aesthetic judgment and foresight.

Upon retirement from the college in 1985, Nichols was designated professor emeritus of fine arts. More recently, she was honored by the college with an honorary degree, conferred in 1997. Nichols also has received a service award from the Centre Alumni Office.

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Communications Office
Centre College
600 W. Walnut Street
Danville, KY 40422

Coordinator of Public Information: Patsi Barnes Trollinger
Telephone 606-238-5719 · trllngrp@centre.edu