Dr. William Nichols, a scholar of Spanish culture and an experienced university administrator, has joined The University of Texas at Dallas as dean of undergraduate education and Mary McDermott Cook Chair for Undergraduate Education. For more than two decades, Nichols served on the faculty at Georgia State University (GSU), where most recently he was associate dean of the Honors College. UT Dallas’ holistic approach to student success drew Nichols to UTD and his new position. As a proponent of interdisciplinary education at Georgia State, he coordinated the Undergraduate Research Conference to foster research opportunities for all students and created an Undergraduate Research Council to integrate various research efforts at GSU. His research focuses on urban space, tourism and globalization as it is represented and explored in 20th- and 21st-century Spanish culture.