Gene Nichol, the president of the historic College of William & Mary who ordered a cross removed from the campus chapel and approved presentation of a sex show, has quit after being told his contract would not be renewed this summer.

A report in the Virginian-Pilot said Nichol abandoned any responsibilities he would have had during the remaining few months of his contract when the rector of the Williamsburg, Va., college’s governing Board of Visitors told him his contract would not be renewed on its expiration in June.

Nichol, who came under criticism from tens of thousands of students and alumni for his decision to remove the historic cross that had been on display in Wren Chapel for nearly a century, left still defending his actions…