William NicholasWILLIAM NICHOLAS is Professor Emeritus at Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama, where he was James R. Wood Professor and taught recent American history and Latin American history for forty years. In 2005-2006, the College presented him ith the outstanding Educator of the Year Award and he received the ODK Distinguished Professor Teaching Award in 2006-2007. His research interests have centered on twentieth century civil liberties and he has published articles on Southern academic freedom in during World War I and student participation in the Civil Rights movement during the 1960s in Birmingham. His research in recent years has employed extensive oral history interviews to amplify the archival records of the United Methodist Church in North Alabama during the Civil Rights era. He is currently retired in his native state of Texas and participates in local civic activities and arts organizations in Georgetown, Texas. He also pursues his lifelong study of the Spanish language and his devotion to the piano and opera performance. Read More Read Less