EXPERIENCING LIFE THROUGH HIS LENS

A third-generation photographer, Joel “Nick” Nichols spent 46 years telling the Winthrop story through pictures as the university’s full-time photographer. He observed that photography has the unique ability to capture fleeting moments in time. His photographs reflect the scope of change that Nichols witnessed during his tenure, starting with Winthrop as an all-women’s college.

Nichols moved into Joynes Hall in September 1962, when it was used as faculty and staff housing. He covered the transition of Winthrop into a racially

integrated and then coeducational institution on its way to growing into a university of regional and national distinction.

One of the students Nichols photographed in the library early in his career at Winthrop later became his wife, Janice Williams Nichols. The Alumni Association surprised Nichols in 2008 with honorary alumni membership status in Janice’s Class of 1963.

Nichols passed away on Dec. 26, 2020, leaving behind a rich legacy that captured thousands of Winthrop’s large and small moments.

Today, Joynes houses an exhibit of some of Nichols’ best work that he personally curated, while the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections has his treasured negatives that span a nearly five decades-long career. Provided here is a sampling of Nichols’ images:

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