Ab and Nancy Nicholas

Nancy Nicholas ‘55 lives in Hartland, WI. Nancy majored in Human Ecology and her late husband, Ab, majored in Economics and Business. Ab co-founded the Nicholas Company Inc., a Milwaukee-based mutual fund firm, where was Chairman and CEO. A former Badger basketball letter winner and member of Wisconsin’s Athletic Hall of Fame, he served on the UW System Board of Regents, the National W Club, and the UW Foundation Board of Directors. Nancy and Ab, created the Nicholas Family Foundation, which has established undergraduate athletic scholarships, as well as graduate fellowships to the university. The Nicholas’ support for UW-Madison includes the Nicholas Center for Finance and Investment Banking and the Nicholas Lecture Hall, both at the Wisconsin School of Business; the Nicholas-Johnson Practice Pavilion; and Nancy Nicholas Hall of the School of Human Ecology, the first academic building on campus named for a woman. Ab received the WAA Distinguished Alumni Award in 1993, and the UW-Madison Distinguished Business Alumni Award in 1985. Ab and Nancy are proud members of a four-generation family of Badgers.