Bruce Nichols, who served as the director of the Executive Education program in Samford University’s Brock School of Business for more than 15 years, retired in December 2023. 
 
Since 2008, Nichols’ leadership of the program increased exposure for Samford University and Brock School of Business, through which the program benefited dozens of organizations and business faculty members.
 
Under his direction, the program specialized in offering customized courses directed toward each client’s needs. In his work, he was very passionate about providing an added value for the customers.
 
Prior to coming to Samford, Nichols led the Executive Education program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Before that, he was a manager at Southern Company College, the then entity within Southern Company that provided its employees with professional development opportunities. In his role, Nichols created customized professional development programs for specialized groups within Southern Company.
 
In reflecting on his time at Samford, Nichols said he enjoyed working for a faith-based institution, collaborating with faculty and staff, and developing relationships with clients of the Executive Education program. He said, “I probably wouldn’t have made a career move to Samford had it not been for the university’s foundation in faith. I worked daily to represent Samford in the best way possible. To me, if you represent Samford, you represent God. Being a representative of a godly place made my work very special.”
 
Nichols plans to spend more time with his family in his well-deserved retirement.
 
Chad Carson, dean of Brock School of Business said, “We are grateful for Bruce’s service to Samford and Brock School of Business, especially for his dedicated work to expand our Executive Education program. We wish him the best in retirement.”