Victorine Louistall Monroe Papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
West Virginia and Regional History Center
West Virginia & Regional History Center
West Virginia University
P.O. Box 6069
1549 University Avenue
Morgantown, WV 26506
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Lori Hostuttler
Phone: (304) 293-3536
Restrictions:

No special access restriction applies.

Terms of access:

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Victorine Louistall Monroe Papers, A&M 3916, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
5.25 Linear Feet Summary: 5 ft. 2 1/2 in. (8 document cases, 5 in. each); (3 flat storage boxes, 3 3/4 in. each); (1 flat storage box, 3 in); (2 flat storage boxes, 1 3/4 in. each); (1 index card box, 4 3/4 in.)
Creator:
Monroe, Victorine Louistall, 1912-2001
Abstract:
Papers of Victorine Louistall Monroe, the first African-American woman to receive a graduate degree from West Virginia University (WVU), and the first African-American to serve as a WVU faculty member. Contains material regarding Louistall's education, career, and personal life, including correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, awards, and other material. See "Scope and Content Note" and "Historical Note" for further information.
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Victorine Louistall Monroe Papers, A&M 3916, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

Papers of Victorine Louistall Monroe, the first African-American woman to receive a graduate degree from West Virginia University, and the first African-American to serve as a WVU faculty member. Contains material regarding Louistall's education, career, and personal life, including correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, awards, and other material.

This collection contains thirteen series:

Series 1. Biographical Materials; 1936-2006 (boxes 1-2)

Series 2. Correspondence; 1921-2006, undated (boxes 2-4)

Series 3. Photographs; 1908-1983, undated (boxes 4-5, 9)

Series 4. Newspaper Clippings; 1955-1989 (boxes 6 and 9)

Series 5. Kelly Miller High School; 1929-1998, undated (boxes 6 and 15)

Series 6. Alpha Kappa Alpha; 1944-1994, undated (boxes 7 and 14)

Series 7. Subjects; 1929-2002, undated (boxes 7-8)

Series 8. Miscellaneous; 1943-2004 (box 8)

Series 9. Scrapbooks; 1941-1980 (box 10)

Series 10. Awards; 1992-2003 (box 11)

Series 11. Artwork; undated (box 12)

Series 12. Artifact; 1981 (box 13)

Series 13. Motion Picture Film; 1938-1959, undated (box 15)

Biographical / historical:

Victorine Louistall Monroe (19 August 1912 to 6 October 2006) was born in Cumberland, Maryland to Campbell M. Louistall and Malinda (Waller) Louistall. The family later moved to Clarksburg, West Virginia, where Louistall attended Kelly Miller High School. She attended West Virginia State College (now West Virginia State University), where she was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, which she remained active in throughout her life. She graduated with a degree in business administration in 1936. She later attended West Virginia University, becoming the first African-American woman to earn a graduate degree there, receiving a Masters of Education in 1945.

After graduating from WVU, Louistall worked at Kelly Miller High School and Roosevelt-Wilson High School. She was hired as a professor at West Virginia University in 1966, becoming the first African-American to serve as a WVU faculty member. Louistall retired from WVU in 1978. She was appointed to the West Virginia Library Commission by Governor Jay Rockefeller, serving from 1980 until June 1992. She was also a member of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association.

Louistall married Ernest Monroe in 1981.

Physical location:
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard