IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES
IOWA CITY, IOWA
C. PAULINE SPENCER (1898 -
1985)
PAPERS, 1920 -1985
2.5 linear inches
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ACQUISITION: |
The papers (donor no. 257) were donated
by the University of Iowa, Department of Health, Leisure and Sport Studies in
2000. |
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ACCESS: |
The papers are open
for research. |
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COPYRIGHT: |
Copyright has been transferred to the University of Iowa. |
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PHOTOGRAPHS: |
In Box 1. |
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PROCESSED BY: |
Shelley Lucas in May, 2001. |
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Biography
C. Pauline Spencer was born in Des
Moines, Iowa, in 1898. She received her
grade school education in Colorado Springs, and her high school diploma at West
Des Moines High School. Spencer majored
in physical education at the University of Iowa (then known as the State
University of Iowa), and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in
1923. She later received her Master’s
degree at Iowa State Teacher’s College and also did some graduate work at Columbia
University in New York.
During her undergraduate years at
Iowa, Spencer excelled in athletics and was very active in the Women’s Athletic
Association (WAA). She served as
president of the WAA for two years and was also elected as a delegate to the
national convention. Spencer was the first
female to win an athletic letter as a sophomore (an “I” sweater), and
established another record by winning a second “I” before she graduated. After a particularly outstanding performance
at a track meet, one newspaper characterized her as “probably the most perfect
girl at the State University of Iowa” and noted that her athletic record was
one many men might envy. Her sister
Helen was also very active in athletics.
Following graduation, Spencer taught
at Iowa City Junior High School. The
majority of her teaching career, however, took place at Omaha Technical High
School in Omaha, Nebraska. She began
her long tenure there as the director of physical education for girls, and
later served as a counselor and then dean of girls. She retired from Tech High in 1963. Spencer received a number of honors and awards during her career
including a nomination from her students for a national Best Teacher Contest in
1951.
In her leisure time, Spencer enjoyed
traveling. She visited every state in
the United States, went to Mexico a number of times, and also traveled abroad,
visiting ten countries in Europe.
C. Pauline Spencer died at age
eighty-seven in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1985.
Her family established a scholarship for women physical education majors
at the University of Iowa in her honor.
To date, this prestigious award funds both undergraduate and graduate
student recipients in the Department of Health, Leisure and Sport Studies, and
also funds a graduate research assistantship at the Iowa Women’s Archives.
Scope and Content Note
The C. Pauline Spencer
papers date from 1920 to 1985
and measure 2.5 linear inches. The
papers are divided into three series:
Career, Family, and Photographs.
The
Career series (1920-1985) includes
materials from her days as a student at the University of Iowa and her career
as a physical education teacher.
Newspaper clippings, memorabilia from sporting and social events, and a
handwritten anatomy manual document her achievements as an athlete, a student, and
an educator.
The
Family series consists of three
items pertaining to her sister Helen Spencer who graduated from the University
of Iowa one year later: a commencement
program, a letter of recommendation, and a photograph.
The Photographs series includes a portrait of Pauline Spencer as an
undergraduate student and one taken later in her career, as well as photographs
of classrooms and the university.
Related
Collections
University
of Iowa Department of Physical Education for Women records.
Box no. Description
Box 1
Career
University of Iowa, 1920-1923
Anatomy course notebook
Correspondence, 1923
Name tags
Social events, 1920-1923
Sport banquets, 1921, 1923
Newspaper clippings, 1920-1985
Family
Helen Spencer
Photographs