Nolen M. Irby was president of UCA from 1941-1953. The first Irby Hall was a training school built in 1949 and later used as a classroom building. The building was razed in 1992 and the current Irby Hall houses the College of Liberal Arts and other academic departments. Courtyard of building is named for English professors Dr. Eugene Nolte (1949-1978) and Ralph Behrens (1949-1983).