These papers focus on various portions of Riehl's career in academia. There are several essays and collections of class notes from his graduate courses. Riehl oversaw the Navy Training Program at SLI during World War II. The papers contain a great deal of information on the activities of the V-5 and V-12 programs.

Most of these papers were donated shortly after Riehl's retirement in 1965. Later donations came from his son, Dr. Joseph E. Riehl.

For more material on Riehl's career at USL, see his tape and transcript in the USL Oral History Collection.