Edra Bogle, 87, who served on the English department faculty from 1970 to 2002, died Sept. 13 in Denton.
She received her bachelor’s degree at Iowa State Teachers College/University of Northern Iowa in 1956, her master’s in library science from Columbia University and her Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of Southern California in 1968.
Along with being a professor at UNT, she became the first coordinator of women’s studies and served on the English Department Steering Committee and the Faculty Senate. She also was one of the early faculty members in Texas to come out publicly as an LGBTQ+ person.
Bogle served in numerous elected positions for the Modern Language Association and the Science Fiction Research Association and was editor for the MLA’s Gay Caucus. She also was an indexer for the Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature from 1972 to 1984 and an associate editor of the third edition of Halkett and Laing’s Dictionary of Anonymous and Pseudonymous Literature in 1980.
Politically active, she belonged to the Denton chapter of National Organization of Women, participated in the Dallas Gay Alliance and helped revive the Denton Gay Alliance at UNT. She also co-chaired the Lesbian/Gay Democrats of Texas and co-created and served as the first president of the Denton Chapter of the Stonewall Democrats. She served as precinct chair for the Democratic Party in Denton County for several years and as county chair, and she ran for the State Board of Education in 2006.
A memorial will be held at a later date.
