Nichols College names William Pieczynski ninth president after serving as interim chief

DUDLEY — After serving as interim president of Nichols College, William C. Pieczynski has been appointed the ninth president of Nichols.

Glenn Sulmasy, the previous Nichols College president, resigned in October 2023 after he had been the subject of sexual misconduct allegations while working at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

Pieczynski was named interim president shortly after Sulmasy's resignation. His appointment to the permanent role of president was announced by the Nichols College Board of Trustees and is effective May 1, according to an announcement from Nichols College.

A Sturbridge resident, Pieczynski has had a long career at Nichols, joining the college as director of the Nichols Fund in 2006. As the fund director, Pieczynski's goal was to expand the college's President’s Society.

Later, he was named vice president for advancement in 2010 and oversaw the college’s bicentennial campaign — "Securing a Legacy of Leadership" — to support capital projects, endowment, curricular and co-curricular initiatives. The campaign raised $66 million, becoming the largest campaign in Nichols history.

The Nichols announcement also states that Pieczynski has been instrumental in setting new fundraising standards, securing support for building projects and experiential learning programs and increasing the number of endowed scholarships from 16 to 98.

“To lead Nichols College is a tremendous honor and I am excited to assume the presidency at such a pivotal time in this institution’s long and storied history,” Pieczynski said in a statement. “We offer something special at Nichols — a highly relevant, hands-on education that prepares students for lives of meaning, purpose and success after graduation. As a member of this community for the past 18 years, I care deeply about Nichols and its people, and am confident of the role I can play in fostering a campus culture that reflects our values, takes advantage of our unique strengths and advances the college’s mission.”

In a statement, Board of Trustees Chair Randall Becker praised Pieczynski's leadership during his time as interim president.

“Bill has led Nichols through a period of transition with deft skill and unquestionable success. He is a natural leader, a man of great character, and cares deeply about Nichols and its extended community. He is uniquely qualified to harness the college’s recent momentum and continue the upward trajectory that now ranks Nichols among the national leaders in salary potential and return on investment,” Becker said.

Prior to his time at Nichols, Pieczynski began his career in fundraising at his alma mater, Catawba College, in Salisbury, North Carolina.

Sulmasy's resignation followed his decision to go on temporary leave in September 2023. In July of that year, CNN published a story about the Coast Guard’s “most sweeping investigation into sexual assaults at its academy,” in New London, Connecticut.

Sulmasy, an academic attorney for the academy, was one of two attorneys accused of discouraging an officer from pursuing her claims that she had been sexually assaulted while at the academy in the 1990s.

He was also accused of “sexting” with a former student and verbally harassing another while at the service academy.

At the time of his leave, Sulmasy’s attorney disputed the allegations.

Sulmasy left the Coast Guard in 2015 and began work as an administrator at Bryant University before being named president at Nichols in 2021.

Sulmasy resigned following the CNN report and findings from an internal Nichols investigation into Sulmasy's time at the service academy.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Nichols College names William C. Pieczynski ninth president