Retired Orange Superior Court Judge Jack Mandel, co-founder of the Nicholas Academic Centers, has received Bank of America’s 2011 “Local Hero” award for championing vital causes, inspiring others to get involved and having a “significant impact” on individuals, families and the community. Judge Mandel was among five “Local Heroes” recognized at a luncheon ceremony on November 16th at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. He said he will donate his $5,000 check to help NAC graduates buy clothes and furnish their dormitory rooms when they go to college. “I am humbled to receive this honor on behalf of the Centers’ co-founder, Dr. Henry Nicholas, our dedicated staff, and, especially, our students who are the true heroes,” said Judge Mandel. “This award really recognizes the accomplishments of these young people to apply themselves and succeed.”

Chapman University Nobel Laureate Vernon L. Smith and his colleague, Bart Wilson, delivered their second lecture as part of the Nicholas Academic Centers' "Visiting Scholar Series" at the NAC1 Annex. The two professors from Chapman's Economic Science Institute conducted "double auction" experiments with students learning how both buyers and sellers can benefit from market transactions. Drs. Smith and Wilson delivered their first lecture in the series in January 2011. Dr. Smith, known as the father of "Experimental Economics," was awarded the 2002 Nobel Prize in Economics for his work in using laboratory experiments to research why markets and other exchange systems work the way they do.

Chapman University Professor Brian Alters delivered the first 2011-2012 "Visiting Scholars Series" lecture, "The Pursuit of Happiness and Knowledge: Walt Disney and Charles Darwin", to NAC students, parents and staff. The lecture program between the Nicholas Academic Centers and Chapman University began its second year on Oct. 8.

Emmy Award-winning documentarian Sandra Robbie and health communications expert Lisa Sparks were the featured speakers at the March 19 segment of the 2011 "Visiting Scholars Series," in which faculty and other representatives from Chapman University discuss wide-ranging topics with Nicholas Academic Centers students, parents and staff . Robbie showed the PBS special she wrote and produced, "Mendez v. Westminster: For All the Children/Para Todos los Ninos," which revealed the story of the 1940s school desegregation case that paved the way for the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Professor Sparks discussed "Health and Media Literacy" and challenged participants to create their own communications presentations to raise awareness of disease prevention and healthy lifestyles.

Chapman University Professors Carmichael Peters and Adam Rote lectured to Nicholas Academic Centers students and staff as part of the 2011 "Visiting Scholars Series" at the NACI Annex in downtown Santa Ana. Dr. Peters, an expert in comparative religions, explored "What is Philosophy," while Prof. Rote, a computer graphics designer who works in video post-production and gaming, discussed "Art at the Speed of Light."

Dr. Nicholas was a guest on Feb. 23 at the annual luncheon for supporters of the Oakland Military Institute, a 6th-12th grade charter school established by California Gov. Jerry Brown when he was Mayor of Oakland. OMI's inner-city students go on to pursue college educations at more than double the rate of students from other public schools in the area. Alumni now attend Yale, West Point, UC Berkeley, most other University of California and California state University campuses and community colleges throughout Northern California. The Henry T. Nicholas, III Foundation is the largest private supporter of the Oakland Military Institute.

The Nicholas Academic Centers hosted the second in its ”2010 Visiting Scholar Series” of lectures by Chapman University professors. Mildred Lewis, Assistant Professor of Film and Media Arts, delivered a lectured titled, “Downloaded, YouTube’d, 3-D’d, and Flickr’d: Media Aesthetics in a Multiplatform Digital World.” Assistant Professor of Physics, Dr. Hesham El-Askary, spoke about “Hazards, Global Change and Satellite Technology.”

The Nicholas Academic Centers held the first in a series of monthly lectures by Chapman University professors. The "2010 Visiting Lecture Series" introduces students to a collegiate academic environment while building stronger ties with highly respected local universities. The first lectures featured Associate Professor of American Studies, Paul Apodaca, who spoke about valuing cultural heritages, and Assistant Professor of Art History, Liliana Leopardi, who made a presentation on Renaissance Italy. The event also included an impromptu birthday celebration for NAC co-founder and Executive Director, retired Judge Jack Mandel.

Henry Nicholas hosted the 2010 Nicholas Academic Center Graduation Celebration June 2nd at his Newport Coast home. Sixty-six seniors from the after-school tutoring and mentoring centers in Santa Ana were honored. They will be attending some of the world's best colleges and universities, including Georgetown, Smith, Haverford, UC Berkeley and UCLA.

Headshots, portraits and photos of Henry Nicholas alone and with political and community leaders

The Henry T. Nicholas III Foundation presented the ‘Gordon's House' keys to the Martinez-Moran family
during a Habitat for Humanity dedication ceremony Jan. 16th in Westminster, Ca. Built through a partnership between Habitat for Humanity of Orange County and the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, Gordon’s House was created in honor of the late Episcopal priest Reverend Canon Gordon B. Yeaton, Jr., board member of Habitat for Humanity of Orange County who died in 2007. Dr. Nicholas attended the event to praise the Diocese and Habitat for their contribution to families and to honor the Martinez-Moran family for their ability to overcome hardships. The Henry T. Nicholas, III Foundation has donated more than $600,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, including $100,000 for the construction of ‘Gordon’s House.’

On Aug. 26, 2009, Nicholas Academic Center students visited MacArthur Park’s Mama’s Hot Tamales Café, an economic development project aimed at mentoring limited-income entrepreneurs who may not have access to the skills and resources they need to start a business. Mama’s Hot Tamales Café has been praised both locally and nationwide— and is fully supported by the city of Los Angeles— for providing the leadership that has helped the local community overcome decades of economic, residential, educational, environmental, and recreational disinvestment. The Café’s program director, Sandi “Mama” Romero, taught the students how to cook tamales while also explaining the program’s cultural and economic benefit to the surrounding community. The students also visited Mama’s Small Business Kitchen Incubator in Pasadena, a licensed food preparation and education area for those starting a business. An economic development project of the Episcopal Housing Alliance, the Incubator and Café help stimulate the local economy by utilizing local resources. Like the partnership between the Performing Arts Center and the Academic Center, the field trip to Mama’s Tamales Café and Small Business Incubator is designed to not only bring together two programs that the Henry T. Nicholas III Foundation fully supports, but to teach the students about successful entrepreneurs through the results of hard work.

Dr. Henry “Nick” Nicholas pounded nails and helped raise the wall framing today on a Habitat for Humanity house as construction began on the future home of a deserving Orange County family. In a ceremony later, four families were given the keys to newly completed homes, including the family of Iraq War veteran Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Morales, who watched the proceedings via webcam from his current deployment in Iraq. Morales’ wife, Katia, and two young daughters were present for the ceremony. Dr. Nicholas was honored in recognition of the $500,000 grant from the Henry T. Nicholas, III Foundation that is helping to build 27 homes.

With the support of the Henry T. Nicholas, III Foundation, Habitat for Humanity is building a home in the memory of the late Rev. Canon Gordon B. Yeaton, Jr. Yeaton was a public school teacher in Irvine and a part-time Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Los Angeles. The Henry T. Nicholas, III Foundation contributed $100,000 toward the cost of constructing the home, which has been dubbed "Gordon's House." When complete, the Westminster house will be home to a widower and his two sons.