Alfred H. Nolle papers

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.