Judy Nichols came to the College of Law from The Arizona Republic, where she was a senior reporter, working on database analysis and investigative projects and Native American issues. She also served as night editor, assistant city editor, bureau chief, features copy editor, online editor and business reporter. She and her husband, Tom, a wire editor at The Republic, previously owned and operated the North Coast News, a bi-weekly newspaper in Mendocino/Fort Bragg, Calif.

She has won numerous state and national awards, including a National Headliner Award for Public Service, Heywood Broun Award, Harry Chapin Media Award and Best of the West. She was inducted into the University of Arizona Daily Wildcat Hall of Fame in 2008.

Nichols also has been an adjunct faculty at The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at ASU, teaching in-depth reporting and digital media.