Leda McIntyre Hall: An Advocate for Change

Dr. Leda McIntyre Hall, Ph.D.' 84, is a professor and political activist. Her interest in politics started when she was a teenager.

"I got interested I politics when I was in the very early part of high school," Hall said. "I had a friend that was involved in a campaign and I got invited to go along."

Influenced by her experience, Hall participated in political events and campaigns throughout high school. "It was fun," she recalled. "It made me pay attention to the world around me in a different way."

Hall carried her awareness of the world around her to college. She attended the Colorado Women's College in the early '70s and brought her interest in politics with her. She majored in political science and government, and got involved in campus, state and national politics.

"I was involved in the Women's Rights Movement," Hall said. "We were working, in those years, to have women seen as equal members in the workforce and higher education. We also wanted to get more women interested in running for political office."

In addition to the Women's Rights Movement, she participated in the 1972 Presidential election and spent a semester in Washington, D.C, campaigning.

For any political activist, the belief that change is possible when people make their voices heard is a key principle. Hall's belief is no different.

"People still thought that little people could make a difference in political outcomes," Hall said. "I think that is part of what energized me in college."

Hall's political interest escalated, and thoughts about running for office entered her mind. But the political scene at the time redirected her focus, and she chose another route.

"I was somewhat discouraged by the American political situation. Richard Nixon had resigned in disgrace after Watergate and we were starting a little bit of a shrill period where people wanted to yell and scream rather than make good policy," Hall said. "I decided that I would be a government manager rather than run for office, and that's what I did."

Hall enrolled at Ohio State University and got her master's in public administration. She worked for the City of Columbus and the Cincinnati City Council for a few years. Her political activism slowed down during this time, but she used the down time as a chance to think about her next move. She decided to search for different career opportunities.

"I ended up getting an offer to come and teach public administration and political science at Eastern Kentucky University," she said. "I thought, 'well, I'll try it' and I found that I really liked teaching."

Her time at EKU also connected her with Richard Elling, who left EKU to work at Wayne State. He befriended Hall and eventually recruited her to Wayne to complete her Ph.D.

In her first teaching assignment, Hall encountered students currently working in office who were looking to either do a better job or be promoted. "I felt like I was helping people who were running state and local government do a better job," she said. Hall was facilitating change once again.

She moved to Detroit after working at EKU for a few years. Her political activism returned, and she took a job working for Detroit City Council member David Eberhard. She also enrolled in the Ph.D. program at Wayne State University and completed her degree in political science and government under the guidance of Richard Elling.

Hall is now preparing to work in the upcoming election. She also teaches a health care management course at George Washington University.

Hall's advice to current students is two fold. For undergraduates: "find something that makes you want to know more, and study that." For graduate students: "get out in the world a little bit, and find something by experience that interests you that you want to do for a first career or second career that a graduate degree would enable you to do."