James Nolan, Ph.D., LPCC, Licensed Psychologist

James Nolan, Ph.D.

Dr. Nolan began his presidency of Southwestern College in June, 2006. He earned his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from The Ohio State University. His true early teachers in Psychology and Consciousness were Shakespeare, James Joyce, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Hermann Hesse, Franz Kafka, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre and the like during his undergraduate and graduate studies in Literature. Though their discoveries were not by today’s definition evidence based, they knew how to ask the real questions of the Spirit, and their expansive creative efforts offered limitless horizons for the soul and for the possibilities of Consciousness.

Dr. Nolan has been in leadership since the late 1980’s; in the academy, in practice and in university counseling centers. His experiences with more than a dozen traditional and distance/blended universities allows him to recognize the unique and vibrant vision and mission of Southwestern College. He is more than honored to now be a small part of its history and tradition.

Dr. Nolan has taught or supervised the clinical training of many hundreds of graduate students, directed health and counseling centers, served as the national Director of Training in Psychology for a distance university, and he has presented at many regional and national conferences.

His current passions are chronicling the history of Southwestern College, studying Consciousness within a framework of Positive Psychology (in all its mainstream and alternative manifestations), mentoring/coaching Southwestern students and finally, trying to understand the deep teachings of Barney, his wire haired fox terrier friend.