Former dean supports students at the College of Environment and Design with substantial donation

For Bob Nicholls, giving back to the University of Georgia College of Environment and Design is a way to show support for students.

Nicholls served as Dean of the School of Environmental Design from 1973 to 1982. Originally from England, Nicholls attended the University of Liverpool and received an entrance scholarship to support his academic pursuits before immigrating to the United States.

When Nicholls left England to study landscape architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, he successfully secured a second scholarship to fund his overseas education.

Now, almost 70 years later, he is making a difference in students’ lives by providing funding opportunities like the ones he received in college.

“That’s what has inspired me to pay it forward,” Nicholls said. “You know, I got something, so now I’m trying to give it back.”

Nicholls’  gift will help support students through his traveling scholarship fund, the Robert P. Nicholls Traveling Scholarship. The donation is in the form of a planned gift that will benefit future CED students.

Nicholls’ traveling scholarship is awarded each year to the top student finishing his/her third year in the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture program. The recipient is chosen based on grade point average at the end of the academic year.

With 93 years of life experience, Nicholls offers a piece of design advice: “Always try to make sure what you create is compatible with the environment,” he said. “I have tried to maintain that principle in everything I have designed and done.”

Nicholls resides in Athens, and in his free time, he enjoys running and traveling the world with his family.