When Diana Nolte met her future husband, Paul, in 1974, she was a single mother raising three young daughters. 

Having earned a bachelor’s degree in art with a minor in education from Colorado State University in 1963, she worked in a variety of careers to support her family – from fashion illustrator and art teacher to media buyer and display advertising sales representative for the Arkansas Democrat and the Arkansas Gazette.

And so Diana Nolte can understand how difficult it is for single parents to raise their children while attending college. In order to ease this burden, the Noltes have pledged $30,000 to create an endowed scholarship for single parents attending the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

“Paul and I believe in higher education and wish it was tuition free,” Diana Nolte said. “It is so difficult to work a job and go to school and more so for a single parent. We want to help where needed with this scholarship for single parents.”

The first recipient of the Diana and Paul Nolte Endowed Scholarship will be selected this spring, and the $1,000 scholarship will be awarded for use during the 2017-18 academic year.

The scholarship is available to full- and part-time undergraduate students attending UA Little Rock who are single parents and have at least a 2.50 GPA. Financial need will be strongly considered.

For more information about applying for private scholarships at UA Little Rock, visit the scholarships website. The application deadline is March 1.

When Paul met Diana

When Paul Nolte, a 1967 graduate of UA Little Rock and veteran entrepreneur of the election industry, met Diana, she had three girls (Sandy, Denise, and Jennifer) in tow. It was the children who tugged on Paul’s heartstrings.

“On our first date, Jennifer was 3 years old. She was running around, and then she jumped on my lap and hugged me,” he said.

In less than a year, Paul and Diana were married. Remembering Diana’s struggles as a single parent fueled a desire for the Noltes to help single parents earn their college degrees.

“When you are a divorced woman, you have no backup. If the child gets sick or you need a babysitter or you are sick, there is absolutely no backup and absolutely no extra money,” Diana Nolte said.

In 1991, the Noltes built their own company, Election Resources Corporation, which handled ballot preparation and tabulation software in 18 states.

The Noltes are both Master Gardeners and avid travelers who love to spend time with their three daughters, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Paul Nolte is the 2016 recipient of the UA Little Rock Presidents Award.

Diana Nolte is also a member of Questers/Arkopolis Antique Club and Little Rock Junior Departmental Club and a former member of the National Association of Women Business Owners, and Network of Executive Women.