Descriptive Summary
Administrative Information
Biography
Scope and Content
Descriptive Summary
Title: Vivian Hall Papers
Collection number: MS-R008
Creator:
Hall, Vivian
Extent: Number of containers: 18 document boxes, 1 record
carton
Linear feet: 8.5
Repository:
University of California, Irvine. Library. Special Collections and Archives.
Irvine, California 92623-9557
Abstract:
Vivian Hall, a resident of Irvine, California from 1968 until her death in 2008, was an educator,
feminist, political and community activist, and grass roots organizer.
The collection principally documents Hall's political and feminist activities during the
1970s, notably her years as First Vice Chair of the National Women's Political Caucus,
appointment as a delegate to the National Conference for International Women's Year, and
1976 Congressional campaign. Hall also developed two of the first women's studies
courses in the country for high school students, helped found two Orange County feminist
groups, Women For: Orange County, and Women's Network Alert, and was a leading member in
a coalition of Orange County women that brought about investigations into Senator William
Campbell's sponsorship of an annual Conference on Women.
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary righrts are retained
by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to
publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and University Archives.
Preferred Citation
Vivian Hall Papers. MS-R008. Special Collections and Archives, The UCI Libraires, Irvine,
California.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Vivian Hall, 1995.
Processing History
Processing completed by Elizabeth Wertin in 1996.
Biography
Vivian Hall (1922-2008) was an educator, feminist, political and community activist, and grass roots organizer.
Vivian Halpern grew up in Westchester County, a suburb of New York City. She attended Vassar College, graduating in 1944
with a major in English and a minor in Child Studies. In October of that same year, she eloped with Thomas Hall six weeks
after meeting him. For several years after college, Vivian Hall worked in the field of early childhood education as a nursery
school teacher and director, both in Colorado and California, and as education director for the Anti-Defamation League in
Denver, Colorado. During this period, she earned a Master of Arts degree at the University of Colorado (1947), majoring in
English (American Literature) and minoring in Philosophy. She also studied at the University of California, Los Angeles,
the University of California, Irvine, and Denver University.
Holder of both an elementary and secondary credential from the State of California, Hall taught a range of grades from first
through college. She participated in the state program for the gifted and was a master teacher for students from California
State University at Long Beach. From 1968 through 1983, Hall taught a variety of subjects at Westminster High School in the
Huntington Beach High School District. In addition to English and history she also taught mass media and was the first to
teach Latin American history in the Huntington Beach district, where she wrote the course of study. She also initiated courses
in Women in Literature and Women in History, which were among the first in the nation to be taught at the high school level.
Over the years Hall was involved in numerous professional and educational organizations, various library friends' groups,
the Democratic Party, and numerous women's groups. The 1970s proved to be a very active decade for Hall in the arena of national
politics and women's issues. After helping found the Orange County chapter of the National Women's Political Caucus in 1974,
she was elected the First Vice Chair for the national caucus in 1976. Also in 1976, Hall ran (unsuccessfully) for Congress,
and in November 1977, was an elected delegate to the national conference in Houston celebrating International Women's Year.
In the 1980s Hall helped found two more Orange County women's groups: Women For: Orange County, and Women's Network Alert.
Vivian Hall and her husband Tom were married for over fifty years. They had two children, Lorna Beth and Douglas. Hall lived
in Irvine, California from 1968 until her death in 2008.
CHRONOLOGY
1922 |
Born December 19th |
1944 |
Graduated Vassar, degree in English, minor in child studies. Married Thomas C. Hall, October 28 |
1948 |
Completed Masters in English, University of Colorado, Boulder |
1951 |
Birth of daughter, Lorna Beth, March 7 |
1958 |
Birth of son, Douglas, September 8 |
1964 -1968 |
Teacher, Malaga Cove Intermediate School, Palos Verdes Peninsula, Calif. |
1968 -1983 |
Teacher, Westminster High School, Orange County, Calif. |
1974 |
Founding member & first Chair, Orange County, Calif. Chapter of the National Women s Political Caucus (NWPC) |
1975 -1977 |
National First Vice-Chair, NWPC |
1976 -1980 |
Member, Democratic State Central Committee |
1976 |
Democratic Nominee for Congress, 40th Congressional District, Calif. |
1977 -1980 |
Member, National Advisory Board, NWPC |
1977 |
Executive Board Member, California Coordinating Committee for International Women s Year (IWY) Delegate and Chair of Orange
County Delegation, National Women s Conference, IWY (November)
|
1978 |
Elected Member, National Advisory Platform Committee, Democratic Party |
1979 -1980 |
Coordinator of Women s Activities, Calif. Democratic Party |
1979 |
Panel Member, National Convention, National Women s Studies Association, University of Kansas |
1980 |
Elected Delegate, Democratic National Convention Member, California Platform Committee, Democratic Party Delegate, White House
Conference on Families (July)
|
1981 |
Founding member, Women s Network Alert Founded CARE, Westminster High School |
1983 |
Founding member and first president, Women For: Orange County |
1983 -1988 |
Consultant/Lecturer, Huntington Beach Unified High School District |
1990 |
Founded Jane Austen Reading Group, Orange County |
1992 |
Founding member, W.A.G.E. (We Advocate Gender Equity) |
2008 |
Died October 1. |
Scope and Content
The collection principally documents Hall's political and feminist activities during the
1970s, notably her years as First Vice Chair of the National Women's Political Caucus
(Series I), appointment as a delegate to the National Conference for International
Women's Year (Series II), and 1976 Congressional campaign (Series III). More recent
activities in the 1980s can be found in the Subject File (Series V), Hall's
participation in Women For: Orange County, and Women's Network Alert, and the coalition
of Orange County women that caused investigations into Senator William Campbell's
sponsorship of an annual Conference on Women (Series IV). Coverage of Hall's teaching
career is almost exclusively from Westminster High School (Series VI) and includes the
women's studies courses she developed. Some biographical materials and family documents
can be found in the Personal Series (Series VII), but the collection is generally weak in
this area, especially for the years prior to 1970.