James Russell Noland

1924 - 2017
James Russell Noland, Jr., aged 93, died August 2, 2017, in Houston, Texas. He was the son of the Rev. James Russell Noland, Sr., and Christine Haley Noland. He was a graduate of Emory University (A.B., 1945), Yale University (M.Div., 1948), and New York University (M.A., 1954). He served his country in the United States Navy during World War II.

A Methodist minister, the Rev. Mr. Noland was active in the ecumenical movement and gave leadership to the National Council of Churches, the Philadelphia Council of Churches, and the Ohio Council of Churches. He came to Houston in 1955 as Executive Director of Protestant Charities, a United Fund Agency. Under his direction, the agency coordinated work between churches and community welfare agencies, sponsored the first Head Start Program in the city, developed the Foster Grandparent Program, and carried out a ministry in public housing and the Harris County Jail. Active in many community organizations, the Rev. Mr. Noland was President of the Houston Ministerial Association when that organization invited Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy to meet with regional clergy and give their views on the separation of church and state. Only Kennedy accepted, and his address was televised to a national audience. Shortly thereafter, he became the first Roman Catholic President of the United States.

During his lifetime, Mr. Noland served on the faculties of eight universities in the fields of history, sociology, education, and organizational behavior. As a professor at the University of St. Thomas, he directed the Institute for School Desegregation, which sponsored training for school board members, superintendents, principals, and classroom teachers within a 100-mile radius of Houston. The Houston Teachers Association gave him the Distinguished Service Award for his work.

In 1967, Mr. Noland became Associate Professor of Education and Assistant to the President at Prairie View A&M University. In 1969, he became Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior in the College of Business Administration and an associate in the Center of Human Resources at the University of Houston. From 1971 to 1975, he was Public Employment Administrator for the City of Houston.

In 1975, Mr. Noland and his wife Mary, also a behavioral scientist, established the Personalysis Corporation, a management consulting firm, to market Personalysis, a scientific assessment technology designed to improve communication in and increase the productivity of business enterprises. He spent his retirement working on the science of personality based upon the laws of physics.

Mr. Noland is survived by his wife, Mary Richerson Noland, and two children, James Russell Noland III and Elise Noland Moore. He was predeceased by a daughter, Ellen Noland Skidmore. He is also survived by a brother, Robert Coleman Noland, and a sister, Marianne Noland Batey. His surviving grandchildren are Westley James Skidmore and Elizabeth Delaney Moore.

Those who want to honor Mr. Noland may send contributions to Yale Divinity School.