the Louisiana Legislature separated Nicholls State from LSU and authorized it to develop four-year curricula. In September 1956, the former junior college became Francis T. Nicholls State College and granted its first degrees in May 1958. In 1970, Act 93 of the State Legislature changed the name of the institution to Nicholls State University.
University leadership
Charles C. Elkins (1948–1962)
Vernon F. Galliano (1963–1982)
Donald J. Ayo (1983–2003)
Stephen T. Hulbert (2003–2013)
Dr. Bruce Murphy (2014–2017)
Dr. Jay Clune (2018–present)
== Academics ==
Princeton Review statistics from 2010 list the student-to-faculty ratio at Nicholls as 20:1. Admission has become selective. The average GPA upon entry is 3.2 with an ACT score of 21. The average GPA of undergraduate students admitted to the university's honors program is 3.6 with an ACT score of 26. Almost 62 percent of the student body are women; and nearly 3 percent are international students. As with nearly all academic institutions in Louisiana, Hurricane …
