Skip to main content

Alfred H. Nolle papers

 Collection
Identifier: 2017-004

Scope and Contents

The Alfred H. Nolle papers document the education and professional activities of Alfred H. Nolle including his roles as German language and literature professor, Dean of Southwest Texas State Teachers College, and member of a number of professional and educational organizations. Materials include incoming correspondence, outgoing correspondence, speeches, reports, manuscripts, graduate coursework, theses, lecture notes, assignments, exams, invitations, event programs, accreditation reports, surveys, meeting proceedings, meeting minutes, publications, newspapers, newspaper clippings, and photographs. Although items within the collection date from 1881 through 1978, the majority date from Nolle’s career at Southwest Texas State Normal School/Southwest Texas State Teachers College through his retirement, from 1919 through 1978. Topics include higher education administration, foreign language education, teacher education, education accreditation, German language and literature, educational honor societies, professional organizations, the life and career of Lyndon B. Johnson, and the history and administration of Southwest Texas State College and its predecessors.

Dates

  • 1881-1978, undated

Creator

Language of Materials

Materials are predominantly in English with some German and Icelandic.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection has some restrictions. Two gradebook are included dated 1912-1914 and 1920-1921. Access is restricted for 100 years since creation, available in 2022. All other materials open to researchers without restriction.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright held by Texas State University. Educational reproduction is allowed without permission. Authorization to publish must be obtained from the Special Collections and Archives.

Archives and Records Request Form

Biographical note

Alfred Henry Nolle was born on April 28, 1889 in St. Charles, Missouri to Louis E. H. Nolle and Mary Wilhelmine Boenker Nolle. Nolle graduated from the University of Missouri in 1911 receiving both a Bachelor of Science in Education and a Bachelor of Arts with honors in German. He completed his M.A. at the University of the South (Sewanee) in 1912 and his Ph.D. in German Literature at University of Pennsylvania in 1915. While at the University of Pennsylvania, Nolle received the Joseph G. Rosengarten Traveling Scholarship in Germanics While traveling and studying in Germany in the summer of 1913, he met his future wife Berda Stewart Wilson. They were married on August 16, 1916. Nolle’s dissertation, The German Drama on the St. Louis Stage, was published by the University of Pennsylvania in 1917.

Upon receiving his Ph.D., Nolle returned to the University of Missouri and served as an instructor in Germanic languages for four years, 1915 through 1919. He began teaching German at Southwest Texas State Normal College in 1919 and was the first staff member to hold a Ph.D. By 1923, Nolle was appointed Dean of the Faculty, although he continued teaching while serving as an administrator. In 1936, Nolle was appointed Dean of the College.

Early in his career at Southwest Texas State, Dr. Nolle formed a relationship with future U.S. Senator and U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. The two corresponded until Johnson’s death and Nolle maintained an interest in following Johnson’s political career.

Dr. Nolle served in a number of educational organizations during his career. At Southwest Texas State Teachers College, he served as the sponsor of extra-curricular clubs devoted to studying the German language, including Die Germanistische Gesellschaft and Der Schiller Verein. Nolle served as a member of the Committee on Standards and Classification of the Association of Texas Colleges from 1923 to 1959 and was chair of the committee from 1939 to 1959. He was also involved in the founding of the Scholarship Societies of Texas which became Alpha Chi, a national honor society. Nolle served as president of the organization in 1927 and then as secretary-treasurer from 1928 through 1969.

For his contributions to education in Texas, Nolle received the honorary degree in Doctor of Laws from the East Texas Baptist College in 1957. Dr. Nolle had served as Dean for 37 years, before retiring in 1959, although he continued to work on campus as the secretary-treasurer of Alpha Chi for another decade. He died on March 7, 1979 in San Marcos, Texas.

Sources: Alpha Chi seeks to honor Alfred H. Nolle, San Marcos Daily Record, September 20, 1989; United States Census, 1910; University of Pennsylvania, Proceedings of Commencement, June 16, 1915; Alfred Henry Nolle draft registration card, June 5, 1917, United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918; The records themselves.

Extent

4.79 Linear Feet (11 legal Hollinger boxes, 1 half-size legal Hollinger box, 15 cataloged books.)

Abstract

The Alfred H. Nolle papers document the education and professional activities of Alfred H. Nolle including his roles as German language and literature professor, Dean of Southwest Texas State Teachers College, and member of a number of professional and educational organizations. Topics include higher education administration, foreign language education, teacher education, education accreditation, German language and literature, educational honor societies, professional organizations, the life and career of Lyndon B. Johnson, and the history and administration of Southwest Texas State College and its predecessors.

Arrangement

The papers are arranged into eight series:
Series I: Graduate education coursework, 1912-1917, undated, 0.16 Linear feet
Series II: Teaching materials, 1918-1947, undated, 0.13 Linear feet
Series III: Administrative records, 1920-1977, undated, 0.85 Linear feet
Series IV: Organizational records and publications, 1912-1976 undated, 3.19 Linear feet
Series V: Event printed material and speeches, 1908-1977, undated, 0.42 Linear feet
Series VI: Miscellaneous publications, 1881-1978, 1.50 Linear feet
Series VII: Newspapers and clippings, 1921-1977, undated, 0.33 Linear feet
Series VIII: Photographs, before 1919-1970, undated, 0.02 Linear feet (14 photographs)







Physical Location

Materials may be stored off-site. Advance notice may be required for use.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Materials were donated by Dr. Wilson B. Nolle, Alfred H. Nolle’s son, in 1980.

Related Materials

The University Archives holds additional materials related to German clubs and to the honor society Alpha Chi. Please contact us for additional information on accessing these records.

Materials related to accreditation of the University can be found within Texas Education Agency reports, National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education reports, and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools reports. Finding aids for these collections are available online through the University Archives Digital Collections webpage.

The University Archives also holds back issues of the student-run newspaper, The University Star, and its predecessors, The College Star and The Normal Star. Early issues of the paper have been digitized and are available through the University Archives web site. Issues of the University’s yearbook, Pedagog, may also contain related information. These have also been digitized and are available on the University Archives web site.

Separated Materials

Publications with call numbers are housed off site and may be requested in the reading room.

Printed materials related to the inauguration of Southwest Texas State Teachers College President J. Garland Flowers in 1943, including a program, luncheon program, invitation, and RSVP card, were separated into the existing collection of Presidential inauguration records. Additionally, seven baccalaureate and commencement programs dating from 1913 through 1938 were separated into the existing collection Commencement records.

Twenty five complete issues of the newspaper The College Star dating from 1928 through 1973 were separated into the Student newspaper collection. Additionally, during previous processing, all newspaper clippings were photocopied and then destroyed.

Division of Personnel records and correspondence were destroyed as they included restricted information regarding student grades and expulsions.

General

Index Terms: These materials are indexed under the following headings in the Albert B. Alkek Library’s online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings. Persons: Nolle, Alfred Henry; Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973; Evans, C. E. (Cecil Evans). Organizations: Alpha Chi; American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education; American Association of Teachers Colleges; Association of Texas Colleges; Southwest Texas State Normal College; Southwest Texas State Teachers College; Southwest Texas State College. Subjects: German language; Language and education; Education, Higher—Administration; Teachers colleges; Teachers--Training of. Formats: (Genre Forms) Business correspondence; Conference papers and proceedings; Course materials; Examinations; Minutes (records); Personal correspondence; Reference works; Speeches.

Processing Information

The Alfred H. Nolle papers were initially processed by Iris T. Schumann in 1980 and by a student intern in 2017. The papers were reprocessed in November 2017 by Kaelyn Morice. The original order of the materials and original folder titles are are recorded in Schumann's inventory. When reprocessing, a new arrangment was imposed and the collection and folder titles were devised. In 2020, Nicole Critchley updated the finding aid and uploaded it to ArchiveSpace.

Title
Alfred H. Nolle papers
Status
Completed
Author
Kaelyn Morice, 2017 November; original inventory by Iris T. Schumann, 1980
Date
2017-11-20
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections and Archives Repository

Contact:
Alkek Library Room 580
601 University Drive
San Marcos Texas 78666 USA