Dr. Joseph Elritt Nettles
Public Relations Director, 1936-1970; Alumni Secretary 1936-1970; Instructor of Journalism, 1940-1973; Director of Journalism Program, 1970-1973; Alumni Secretary, Emeritus, 1973-1982; Lecturer in Journalism, Emeritus, 1979-1982
There is a legend that when Joe Nettles retired, he was replaced by three men. That's absolutely false on two counts: it was five men, and frankly, nobody could replace Nettles, he was one of a kind. He was alumni secretary, PR man, journalism teacher, fundraiser; I would call him a whirlwind but that implies disaster; actually Guy Friddell, one of his many successful students, has already aptly labeled him as "a constructive hurricane." I came to know Joe late in his life, but the drive was never diminished. By then, he was obsessed with writing the biography of another giant, Solon B. Cousins. I truly believe that book project kept him alive and hastened his end. And I survived several trips in his automobile and for once in my life I exercised good judgement and declined an invitation to go boating. Paul Duke once observed: "Joe has that rarest of qualities to make each of us feel more important than we really are."