Eleanor A. Hall, R.N., M.A.
Introduction
Eleanor A. Hall, R.N., M.A., served as chairman of the Department of Nursing of the School of Medicine and Dentistry from 1957 to 1971. During her tenure she was devoted to elevating the Department of Nursing's educational standards, regaining accreditation, and developing the foundation for an independent school of nursing. From 1971 to 1975 Miss Hall worked on several special projects for the School of Nursing, including a comprehensive survey of alumnae.
Biography
Eleanor Abell Hall was born to Anna Abell and Edward Clinton Hall on June 14, 1914, in Naugatuck, Connecticut. Miss Hall received a diploma in nursing from Presbyterian School of Nursing, New York. She received a B.S. in nursing supervision and an M.A. in nursing school administration from Teachers College, Columbia University. Hall held staff nurse, head nurse, faculty, and administrative positions at the Presbyterian Hospital of San Juan, Puerto Rico, the Department of Nursing of the Faculty of Medicine of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, the School of Nursing of the Womens Medical College Hospital in Philadelphia, and the Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing. In 1948 she accepted an appointment at Yale University, where she served as nursing clinical coordinator, associate professor of nursing, and assistant dean of nursing until 1957.
In 1963 Professor Hall received the Alumni Citation to Faculty from the University of Rochester. She was listed in Who 's Who in America and Who's Who of American Women, and was a member of the American Nurses Association, the National League for Nursing, the Rochester Academy of Science-Genesee Ornithological Society, and the Rochester Committee for Scientific Information.
Organization of the Collection
Hall presented her papers to the Rare Books & Manuscripts section of the Edward G. Miner Library in the early 1990s. Processing was initiated on 1 February 2001, and completed on 18 April 2001. The papers of Eleanor Hall are contained in sixty-seven boxes, and occupy 40 linear feet in the Library's Archives.
The Hall collection contains the papers of Eleanor Hall during her tenure as chair of the Department of Nursing of the School of Medicine and Dentistry. The collection also includes papers of previous directors of the Department of Nursing (Helen Wood, Clare Dennison, and Ruth Miller Bordy) and of the Division of Nursing Education. The Division of Nursing Education was directed by Esther Thompson from 1944 until 1961, when all nursing education was consolidated in the Department of Nursing. Also included in the Hall collection are records (1951-68) on the Department of Nursing from the office of the Dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry which were transferred to the School of Nursing in 1975. Records from the Dean's office are so indicated in the folder title. Together these papers provide documentation on the careers of Helen Wood, Clare Dennison, Ruth Miller Brody, Esther Thompson and Eleanor Hall, and constitute an invaluable record of nursing education at the University of Rochester, from its inception in 1924 until the independent School of Nursing was inaugurated in 1972.
Wherever possible original folder titles were retained, and, when discernible, original order was maintained. The papers of predecessor directors of the Department of Nursing were arranged separately, as were the papers of the Division of Nursing Education. The boxes comprising the Papers of Eleanor Hall are arranged as follows:
- Records from Predecessor Directors (1924-57) (Boxes 1-7)
- Records from the Division of Nursing Education (Boxes 8-17)
- Records of Eleanor Hall (Boxes 18-63)
- Photographs (Box 64)
- Confidential Records (Boxes 65-67)
Container List