William C. Pieczynski is the ninth president of Nichols College, commencing his tenure in May 2024. Pieczynski has a long and distinguished career on the Hill, working closely with faculty, staff and students across academic disciplines and campus-wide departments to promote the College’s success.

Pieczynski was named vice president for advancement in 2010 and oversaw the successful completion of the College’s bicentennial campaign, Securing a Legacy of Leadership, which raised $66 million to support capital projects, the endowment, and brand-elevating curricular and co-curricular initiatives. The campaign was the largest in the College’s history, generating a record number of multimillion-dollar gifts, and far surpassed its initial goal of $45 million.

Under Pieczynski’s leadership, Nichols has set new standards for overall giving, President’s Society giving, giving percentage and number of donors. During his tenure, he has been instrumental in securing contributions to support new building projects, including the Fels Student Center and Nichols Academic Building, and extensive renovations and upgrades to athletic facilities and Lombard Dining Hall. The number of endowed scholarships rose from 16 to 98. In addition, the College has received numerous major gifts for new experiential learning programs such as Bison Consulting, the student-managed Thunder Fund and the Center for Intelligent Process Automation (CIPA), as well as for co-curricular initiatives such as the Susan West Engelkemeyer, Ph.D., Institute for Women’s Leadership and the Emerging Leaders Program.

He joined the College as director of the Nichols Fund in 2006, where he was tasked with expanding the President’s Society, generating annual funds and guiding alumni relations.

He serves as a trustee of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts.

Pieczynski began his career in fundraising at his alma mater, Catawba College. He and his wife, Lana, are proud parents to Will, Joe and Sam.

Lana Pieczynski is an experienced data analyst who began her career in Charlotte, N.C., after earning a B.A. in computer information systems from Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C. She first met President Bill Pieczynski in an accounting class at the college.

She went on to complete training at Oracle University in Chicago and spent ten years working as a database administrator. During that time, she and President Pieczynski married and welcomed three sons. When her boys were young, she launched her own business, developing databases and facilitating computer coding for small businesses. Currently, she serves as an e-commerce merchandise analyst with All-Star Incentive Marketing in Sturbridge, Mass.

Originally from Pocomoke City, Md., Lana was raised on a dairy farm alongside her two older brothers, spending much of her youth working on the family farm. Her passion for music began early—she started piano lessons at age five and was actively involved in her high school’s music programs, including chorus, band and jazz band.

As she embraces her role as the Nichols College president’s spouse, she looks forward to building connections with faculty and staff and engaging with students to learn about their experiences and aspirations. “Each time I have a conversation with a current student, I am so impressed by their story and individual passions. This is a great place to be right now,” she says.

Lana is particularly inspired by the College’s focus on experiential learning, which she believes empowers students, builds confidence, fosters valuable networking relationships and provides a strong foundation for success. A former field hockey player at Catawba, she also enjoys supporting Nichols athletics teams and looks forward to attending both home and away games.

She also seeks ways to combine students’ passions with her own. “I would love to create a music group on campus. I’m not sure exactly what form that will take, but I feel like there’s some untapped musical talent among our students and faculty, and I’d love to collaborate on a musical project. That little egg is still in the incubator, but hopefully it will be coming to life soon.”

Beyond her professional and campus involvement, Lana enjoys playing the piano, a pursuit she has maintained since childhood. She also loves spending time with the family’s goldendoodle, Kipper, and finds joy in cooking—a love she’s happy to see her sons embracing as well. A fun fact about her: she plays keyboard and sings backup for the local ’80s rock band Splash of Zan.