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Cathal Nolan: Scholar relinquishes spot atop Roosevelt association


Cathal Nolan, a Boston University history scholar who had agreed last summer to become president of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, has stunned the organization by turning down the appointment.

Nolan, who had been working part-time for the Muttontown-based association from Boston, several weeks ago alerted the board that his daughter's health made the move to Long Island impossible.

Nolan said "the primary reason I have declined the offer is family medical reasons, which require us to remain in the greater Boston area."

Barbara Berryman Brandt of Buffalo, who became TRA board chairman in October, said "we certainly felt bad about the situation with Cathal and the sickness in his family."

The organization, which has more than 2,000 members and promotes awareness of the 26th president, will be hiring a search firm and hopes to appoint a new president within six months, she said. Nolan was to succeed acting chief executive Edward Renehan Jr. of Rhode Island, who stepped in after the death two years ago of longtime executive director John A. Gable....