Marie Hochmuth Nichols

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Marie Hochmuth Nichols (1908–1978) was a leading voice in the study of rhetoric. She was born in Dunbar, Pennsylvania, and earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree at the University of Pittsburgh, followed by a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin.

Nichols taught at Mt. Mercy College in Pittsburgh (now Carlow University) until 1939, and then at the University of Illinois from 1939 to 1976. She was married to Alan G. Nichols, a professor emeritus at the University of Southern California; he died in 1973.

In 1978 she received an honorary doctorate from Drury College and died later that year.

Over more than thirty years, Nichols actively contributed to the Speech Communication Association/National Communication Association. She became the first woman editor of the Quarterly Journal of Speech (1963–1965) and was elected president of the association in 1969, the first woman chosen by a vote of all members. In 1976 she received the association’s Distinguished Service Award, and in 1995 she was posthumously named a Distinguished Scholar.

Her work is often described in three themes. John H. Patton called her a leading voice in rhetorical theory and criticism, who stressed the lasting importance of rhetoric. She linked modern work to its classical roots while welcoming new ideas from many perspectives. She also worked to find a central core that unites the study and practice of rhetoric, even as it drew on diverse approaches.