David Keith Nichols

David Keith Nichols, beloved husband, father, friend, and teacher, passed away in Waco, Texas, on March 17, 2025, at the age of 73.

David was born in Hurlock, Maryland, on October 17, 1951, to Paul Nichols and Virginia Boston Nichols. He married in June of 1979, in in the chapel of the Academy of the Sacred Heart, in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, and shared over 45 years of happiness with his wife Mary Pollingue Nichols. He is survived by his wife and their sons Keith Andrew Nichols and John Francis Nichols.

David served as an Associate Professor of Political Science at Baylor University, from 2004 until his retirement in 2020. Before coming to Baylor, David taught at Montclair State University, Fordham University, the Catholic University of America, and the Washington semester program of Claremont-McKenna College. He also worked as a program officer for several years in the Research Division of the National Foundation for the Humanities. He received his PhD from the University of Virginia, his MA from Northern Illinois University, and his BA from Wake Forest.

David published numerous articles and books in American Government, Political Theory, and Politics, Literature, and Film. His work in American politics, for example, included his path-breaking book, The Myth of the Modern Presidency, and articles on separation of powers, administrative responsibility, Gouverneur Morris, Abaham Lincoln, and Barack Obama and the Constitution. His work on film and filmmakers ranged from the films of Humphrey Bogart to directors John Ford and John Sayles.

A beloved teacher and mentor, David taught courses at Baylor on the American Founding, the Presidency, Supreme Court jurisprudence, and constitutional law, advised numerous graduate students, directed over ten dissertations, and in addition served on the dissertation committees of at least ten more. Former graduate students and friends recently presented him with a festschrift, Constitutionalism and Liberty: Essays in Honor of David K. Nichols. The festschrift grew out of a conference in Alexandria, Virginia in 2022, on “The Intellectual Legacy of David Nichols.”

David co-organized six annual conferences for Baylor Graduate students, sponsored by the Alexander Hamilton Institute, in Clinton New York. When the conference moved to Waco in 2018, Executive Director of the Alexander Hamilton Institute Robert Paquette designated it as the David and Mary Nichols Conference on the Great Books.

In his free-time, David enjoyed watching classic movies, British detective shows, and Masterpiece theater with his wife and friends, reading mystery novels, playing spades, helping, advising, and encouraging his sons with their many furniture-building and tree-planting projects at their summer cottage on Hatch Lake in upstate New York, and hosting friends, relatives, and students, both at Hatch Lake and their home in Waco. He also spent a lot of time petting Phoebe, whom he liked to call his “wife’s” cat, at least when Phoebe misbehaved. Being together with his family was the joy of his life.

Donations in memory of David Nichols can be made to AHI Waco, which has recently received status as a 501(C) 3 non-profit organization. This Waco branch of the Alexander Hamilton Institute will continue to sponsor Mary and David Conferences on the Great Books, and other such events, for years to come. Contributions can be made here.

A memorial service will be held at 5:30 PM on April 12, 2025 at Baylor’s Elliston Chapel at East Village on Bagby Avenue (across the street from the Business School).