27th Annual Governor's Arts Award - Nevada Arts Council

P A T R O N A G E I N T H E A R T S
JIM NICHOLS, RENO
Jim Nichols serves the State of Nevada through personal, professional and
financial engagement with the arts, while selflessly avoiding the spotlight. His is a
360-degree philanthropic approach, financially and philosophically supporting the
arts as an individual and as the Founder and President of Nichols Consulting
Engineers from 1990-2004. In the north, his largesse is visible in his service as a
trustee of the Sierra Arts Foundation and the Reno Philharmonic, and through his
involvement with numerous arts events. An active member of the Advisory Board
of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Nevada, Reno since the early
1990's, Nichols is the founder of the Forum for Excellence Speakers Series, which
celebrates the role of critical thinking and civic engagement. Nichols' convictions
and statewide connections assisted the Nevada Arts Council and Western States
Arts Federation (WESTAF) to help set into motion the development of an arts
service organization for the Las Vegas Valley.Anthony Radich,WESTAF's Executive
Director, wrote, “In a state where one can easily become overly aligned with a
single region, Jim has long thought in terms of the advancement of the arts
throughout Nevada. In my mind, he represents the model citizen/arts patron. I
wish we could clone him and spread his model behaviors and goodwill across the
other thirteen states in the western region.” One senses, however, Nichols'
contentment in supporting the arts in Nevada as he works on his PhD at the
University, teaches classes and plays trombone with local bands.