The poverty center at the UNC School of Law that opened in 2005 under the direction of former presidential candidate John Edwards now has a new leader.

It is Gene Nichol, the former law school dean who left Chapel Hill in 2005 for the presidency of the College of William & Mary. Nichol had a rocky tenure there, resigned abruptly earlier this year and returned to teach at UNC.  

UNC's law school created the Center for Poverty, Work and Opportunity specifically for Edwards, who subsequently used poverty as a key issue in his failed bid for the presidency.

He wasn't involved with the UNC center for too long, stepping down from the post in 2006.

Professor Marion Crain took over as the center's director but left Chapel Hill earlier this year for a position on the law faculty at Washington University in St. Louis.

Of Nichol, current law school dean Jack Boger said:

"He is a remarkable scholar and an energetic leader who cares deeply about issues of fairness and equality. I expect his leadership to fortify the center's efforts."