Mark Nichols ’93 started gift-giving to the Cleveland Institute of Art with a $20 pledge two years after graduating, and in the three decades since, he has steadily increased his support of the College. Nichols, who majored in Industrial Design, earned scholarships—including a traveling scholarship his senior year—that helped him make his way through school and start his career on steady footing.
“It was really great to give back to a school that gave so much to me,” Nichols says. “The school really helped me out financially, which allowed me to hit the market in a good position. I felt like I wanted to give back and have been trying to do that ever since.”
Nichols didn’t always want to be an industrial designer. He didn’t even know the field existed, and instead had his eye on a career in graphic design. It wasn’t until his older brother, Sam Nichols ’93, introduced industrial design as “graphic design with a three-dimensional element’’ that he realized it was the perfect fit for him. Today, Mark is the founder and president of Boston-based Olus, where he works on a three-pronged approach to integrate consulting, designing and renewable energy into products.
His passion for the field was passed on to his son, Oliver Nichols ’24, whose attendance at CIA further spurred Mark’s commitment to gift-giving. “When your kid goes there, your passion level goes up,” Mark says.
Oliver followed in his father’s Industrial Design footsteps. “I always knew I would want to do some kind of art as a job. I observed my dad doing design work as a kid, so it kind of led me down that path to follow that same career,” he says. Like his father, Oliver also received a scholarship and a grant—support that Mark deeply appreciated.
“I’m very grateful for it. Hopefully, people—myself included—are giving back enough so that we can keep those going,” he says. “I do worry a little bit about the students taking on too much debt if they are really, truly following the arts without a potentially higher-paying career, so I’m hopeful that enough people give back to the school to make it a little bit easier on the students.”
Mark’s generosity goes beyond gift-giving. He offers his time and energy to promote CIA in Boston and along the East Coast.
“I think there’s giving in many ways, not just financially, but always looking to see how I can help get the name out there in the school districts out by us,” he says. “I see CIA as a top player in the creative colleges, and [even though] the Cleveland Institute of Art is a smaller school, I clearly want to see it continue to succeed.”
Mark understands the value of alumni giving back to CIA. “I would encourage them—like I will my son once he gets up and running—to pay it forward. Help out the next folks who are coming up through a similar path that you went down. Even if it’s a small amount like I did in the beginning, everything helps.”