By Kylie Greene, NI Associate Features Editor After spending 30 years on the UNI campus, Virgil Noack left an impression on the UNI community that will not be forgotten. Noack taught sociology at UNI from 1967 until his death on December 17, 1997, after suffering a heart attack in his office in Baker Hall. However, Noack's association with UNI goes beyond the years he spent teaching at the university. Noack received his bachelor's degree in 1959 and his master's degree in 1964, both from UNI. Before returning to his alma mater, Noack taught at New Hartford Community School from 1959 to 1963 and then in Spirit Lake until 1967 when he returned to UNI. Noack was the acting head of the Sociology and Anthropology Department from 1978-79 and 1984-1985. Noack was also the acting head of the Social Work Department (1984-85) and the Home Economics Department (1985-1986). He was the department head of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology from 1991-1996. Keith Crew, Head of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology and associate professor of sociology and criminology, said Noack was asked to be the acting head of these departments during times of transition and it showed what a "superb leader" Noack was. "He was a quiet leader who led by example," said Crew. James Chadney, professor of anthropology and associate dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, said, "Virgil helped ease the transition of the departments and earned the respect of everyone; he was an extraordinary department leader." In addition to being an outstanding department leader, Crew said Noack was an "active teacher" who did more than just lecture. "Virgil was totally dedicated to undergraduate education and put it first. Students have said he was not only a good teacher but the best," said Crew. "He had a great sense of humor and related to students well. He always had a little story to associate to everything," freshman Jessica Swearingen, a former student of Noack's, said. Besides a love for teaching, Noack enjoyed woodworking and was an avid outdoorsman. Noack is survived by his wife, son, daughter, one grandson, and a sister. "Virgil Noack was one of the most decent people I ever met," said Chadney. "He was a good man who was sincerely dedicated to educating people," said Crew. Copyright Northern Iowan, February 3, 1998, p. 9.
