HOW TO MAKE A GIFT
to the
Dr. David C. Nichols Excellence in Music Fund
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Make a gift online
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Print & mail contribution form
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For more information contact:
Office of Advancement |
Dr. David C. Nichols Excellence in
Music Fund
Alumni, faculty, staff, and friends are asked
to make a generous contribution to the
Dr. David C.
Nichols Excellence in Music
Fund in
recognition of his distinguished service to Truman
State University. This fund is being established by
David and Debra Nichols with a $20,000 challenge
gift to the fund.
It is the goal of Truman State University to raise
an additional $20,000 from donors to match this
gift. The fund will be endowed when it reaches
$40,000. The fund will then provide support as
needed to the Music Department in perpetuity. Funds
will be designated not only toward a woodwind
scholarship but also to provide a multipurpose
resource for student-centered initiatives for the
entire music program.
Dr. David Nichols retired in December
2000, after 35 years of distinguished service to
Truman State University. In the fall of 1966, he
joined the music faculty at Truman (at that time,
northeast Missouri State Teachers College).
Throughout these years, David was a member of the
council for teacher education, the undergraduate
council, the graduate council, the faculty senate,
and also served on a wide variety of faculty and
administrative committees.
Trained as a historical musicologist with an MMus
and PhD from Indiana University, Professor Nichols
received his undergraduate degree from University of
Wisconsin–River Falls. He has been active as a
musicologist, writer, conductor, and
clarinetist/saxophonist throughout his career. At
the time of his retirement he held the positions of
professor of music and director of the graduate
program in music.
He is the author of
Musical Encounters—a
college textbook in music appreciation and history
(2001), and Founding the
Future: The History of Truman
State University
(2007). More recently, he wrote
content and designed exhibits for Truman’s Towne
Museum and Visitors Center.
Throughout his life, Dr. Nichols has been an active
leader in several philanthropic and religious
organizations. He has served as president of the
Kirksville Rotary Club, Faith Lutheran Church, the
Salvation Army Advisory Board, Hospice of Northeast
Missouri, and the Red Barn Arts League (predecessor
to the Kirksville Arts Association). He is currently
on the Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees
for the Missouri Arts Council and is also a member
of the Executive Board of the Missouri Association
of Community Arts Agencies.
David and his
wife, Debra Fortenberry Nichols, share the avid conviction that Truman State
University continues to be a positive influence in shaping the lives of its
students. Debra, an alumnus of Truman State, is a freelance editor of college
textbooks and is an accomplished trumpet player.
The Nichols established the Debra Fortenberry Nichols Brass Scholarship at
Truman in 2004.
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Dedicated to Student Achievement
"Dr. David Nichols made it
possible for me to find my strengths as a
musician and realize my professional talents.
Now, he continues to show his dedication to
student achievement and advancement in the field
of music by establishing a financial system to
assist student growth in performance and
education. The David C. Nichols Excellence in
Music Fund will support students’ involvement in
great opportunities for development at a
critical time in our economy. I applaud this
endeavor and recommend participation in
dedicating financial assistance to our fellow
young musicians.
"Virtually every day of my life I am
reminded of how fortunate I am to
have attended
Truman State University.
As a three-time alumnus of Truman I
doubt that I could overstate the quality of
Truman’s world-class faculty members, who to
this day continue to provide a nurturing yet
challenging musical environment. Dr. David
Nichols is without question one of the
faculty
members who had a profound and significant
influence upon my artistic development. As
one of my first conducting teachers, Dr.
Nichols provided me with the foundation of
conducting, which I continue to utilize with
my own students. With his expertise in
musicology,
Dr. Nichols also helped broaden my
musical horizons and raised my awareness of
musical genres previously unknown to me. I
am extremely grateful for the time and
energy
he invested in my education and personal
growth. |
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