Dr. Leda McIntyre Hall Endowed Ph.D. Fellowship

In March 2021, Leda McIntyre Hall added $250,000 to the Leda McIntyre Hall Endowed Ph.D. Fellowship in Political Science, bringing the total to $1,000,000 and completing the endowment fund. The fellowship was established in 2017 and has, to date, fully funded four Ph.D. candidates, permitting them to successfully finish their dissertations. Hall's gift in perpetuity emphasizes the importance of encouraging the advanced study of political science and will support Wayne State University students for generations to come.

Hall has amassed an exemplary record in her academic career as a scholar, teacher and administrator, and been a major benefactor to Wayne State University. She has had a remarkable career as both a scholar and administrator. She holds a bachelor's in political science from Colorado Women's College and a master's in public administration from The Ohio State University. After graduating from Wayne State with her Ph.D., Hall secured a visiting faculty position at the University of Notre Dame. She went on to a full-time appointment at Indiana University, South Bend, where she spent 26 years as a faculty member and served as dean of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. She has also taught at Eastern Kentucky University and the University of Kentucky, and has conducted health care management courses at George Washington University for many years.

Hall enrolled in the Ph.D. program in political science at Wayne State University in 1981. She received both a tuition waiver and a stipend, which made it possible to pursue her degree on a full-time basis, completing her doctorate in 1984. Her graduate work examined the then-emerging nonprofit sector of the economy from the perspective of scholarly analytics in the field of public administration.

When asked about the endowed fellowship, Hall said that her career was the direct result of the financial and academic support she received from the university and the Department of Political Science, and that she wished to repay the debt by helping other students realize the goals they have set for their lives.

This gift will support doctoral students in political science for future generations, and will produce scholars indebted to Hall, who will leave an indelible mark on the discipline. The faculty, staff and students of the Department of Political Science are deeply touched by her exceptional generosity toward the unit, the college and Wayne State University.