Dr. Marissa Nichols, one of the leaders in the landscape of intercollegiate student-athlete development, was named the first-ever director of the newly formed Cameron Institute in August of 2019.
Dr. Nichols, a former NCAA Woman of the Year finalist and first-team All-American softball player at UNLV, spent the previous two years at Boston University, where she was the institution's first-ever Director of Leadership & Career Development and oversaw the inaugural Bloom Family Leadership Initiative, which focuses on the holistic development of student-athletes.
In May 2019, Cal Athletics announced the formation of the Cameron Institute, an innovative program to support student-athlete development. The institute was made possible through a $12.5 million gift from C. Bryan Cameron and will be based upon three pillars – leadership and personal development, career development and community engagement.
Known for being on the cutting edge of intercollegiate student-athlete development, Dr. Nichols is considered a national leader in the field. In addition to having sole oversight of 13 personal, leadership and career development programs and initiatives at Boston University, she also created and managed over 25 campus and community partnerships. In addition, Dr. Nichols designed and launched The Terrier Network – a thriving program that connects student-athletes with Boston University alums and industry professionals through career mentorship, internship and job opportunities and networking events.
Dr. Nichols has given multiple presentations at the annual National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA) convention and is consistently invited to lend her expertise to other institutions on methods of measuring student-athlete success. She also has been heavily involved in various NCAA leadership development programs.
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