Conditions Governing Use

There is restricted material (grades) due to FERPA.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use except for restricted materials (grades) due to FERPA.

Preferred Citation

MSS 10798, Donald Nuechterlein papers, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia Library.

Biographical / Historical

Nuechterlein (1925-2022), originally from Saginaw, Michigan, the son of Edwin William and Laura Anna Nuechterlein. He earned his bachelor's master's and PhD degrees from the University of Michigan and served in World War II. He became an American diplomat and a professor of International Relations.His career continued as an analyst for the government as well as a University of Virginia adjunct professor, and international foreign relations analyst from the 1960's to the 1990's. He was also a writer and lived in Charlottesville, Virginia from 1968 to 2022. He had a regular political opinion column in The Daily Progress in Charlottesville and frequently wrote for other Virginia newspapers. He was also the author of a dozen books on the United States and world politics. Even though he retired in the 1990's, he was still writing until his death at age 97.

He was an ensign in World War II stationed in Bremerhaven, Germany. He was an assistant reports officer in Berlin from 1946 to 1947. He was a research analyst for the U. S. Department of State from 1952 to 1954. He was stationed in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1954-1956. From 1957 to 1960 he worked for the State Department in Washington D.C. He was also a Cultural Attache at the U. S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand from 1960-1963 and a senior staff officer at the Department of Defense from 1964 to 1968.

In 1968 he co- founded (with Frank Sherwood who was appointed by former president of the United States, Lyndon F. Johnson) the Federal Executive Institute, a center of advanced executive study for advanced government employees, on Emmet Street which is still in operation today. At the Institute, he taught top government officials from the CIA, State Department, and many similar national agency high level directors about foreign policy and leadership. He also led workshops on team building and facilitated support groups that showed empathy and understanding.

Content Description

This collection of papers originated from the career and personal life of Donald Nuechterlein (1925-2022), who was originally from Saginaw, Michigan, served in World War II and became an American diplomat and a professor of International Relations. He was a University of Virginia adjunct professor, and international foreign relations analyst from the 1960's to the 1990's. He lived in Charlottesville and wrote a regular political opinion column in the local paper, The Daily Progress. He frequently wrote for other Virginia newspapers and was the author of a dozen books on the United States and world politics. Even though he retired in the 1990's, he was still writing until his death at age 97.

In 1968 he co-founded (with Frank Sherwood who was appointed by former president of the United States, Lyndon F. Johnson) the Federal Executive Institute on Emmet Street which is still in operation today. At the Institute, he taught top government officials from the CIA, the State Department, and many similar national agency directors about foreign policy and leadership. He also led workshops on team building and facilitated support groups that showed empathy and understanding to its participants.

The collection is mostly correspondence and lectures of Donald Nuechterlein. (Lectures can be found in the correspondence and in a separate category). Included is correspondence from speakers, faculty, and attendees of the Federal Executive Institute including George H. Bush, Sr., William Colby (CIA),Karl Rove, Alexander Haig (Nixon's administration), Warren Christopher, Henry Kissinger, John D. Erhlickman, Lawrence Eagleburger, Ben Bradlee (head of The Washington Post during Watergate), and many heads of State and well known (and secret) political operatives.

There are also parts of his manuscript which was titled "A Tale of Four Cities" and was published as "A Cold War Odyssey."

The papers give an inside look into the Federal Executive Institute and its 4 week sessions. There are also newspaper columns written by Donald Nuechterlein that are informative regarding the political history of the United States and its engagement on the world stage. This collection is an addition to the Donald Nuechterlein papers. Previous additions are mentioned under related materials.

Arrangement

This addition 13 and 14 of Donald Nuechterlein papers is arranged into 3 Series: Series 1. Correspondence, Series 2. Federal Executive Institute, and Series 3. Newspaper columns, articles, lectures, and courses. However this collection is processed at level 1 and these materials can sometimes be found throughout the collection as that is how they came to us from the creator. This arrangement is in chronological order whenever possible.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• National Interest
• Politics and government
• clippings (information artifacts)
• letters (correspondence)