Helen H. Nowlis

Background

Helen H. Nowlis was born on September 22, 1913, in Cranston, Rhode Island, United States. She had a sister, Majorie.

Education

In 1934 Helen H. Nowlis received her Bachelor of Arts degree and her Master of Arts degree in 1936 from Brown University, and her Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1939 from Yale University.

Career

After obtaining a Doctor of Philosophy degree, Helen H. Nowlis devoted the next dozen years to raising her sons and part-time teaching and research at Smith College, the University of Connecticut, Connecticut College, and the Iowa Child Welfare Research Station. In 1951 she and her husband, Vincent Nowlis, joined the Rochester University faculty, where they began pioneering research and study into the overall effects on and prevention of drug use among young people.

Professor Nowlis became increasingly involved in the lives and concerns of her students, particularly during her tenure as dean of students at Rochester (1965 - 1967), and she and her husband developed various innovative programs there, including the establishment of the first coed dorm on an American campus. In 1971 she was appointed by President Richard M. Nixon to head the Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Education, a position she held for a decade before retiring in 1982.

Her landmark book was Drugs on the College Campus (1969), followed by Drugs Demystified: Drug Education (for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 1975). During her career, she was not only instrumental in developing community groups and regional centers to provide training and referrals to those dealing with the problem of drug abuse on campus and at the local level, but she was often called upon to testify before Congress, providing a voice of reason about these volatile topics.

Achievements

• Helen H. Nowlis is best remembered as for service at the University of Rochester and a research on the causes and effects of drug use, often focusing specifically on college students. In 1967 she received an honorary Doctorate of Science from Brown University.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Drugs On The College Campus 1969
  • Drugs Demystified: Drug Education 1975

Membership

Helen H. Nowlis was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Connections

In 1938 Helen H. Nowlis married Vincent Nowlis. They had three sons: David, Geoffrey, and Christopher.

Spouse:

Vincent Nowlis

Son:

David Nowlis

Son:

Geoffrey Nowlis

Son:

Christopher Nowlis

Sister:

Majorie Latham

References

• Contemporary Authors
  2010