Syracuse Sun

Photo of psychology Professor Emeritus Vernon Hall (standing, center) and his students. Danny Kaye (seated, second from right, holding sign) has established a scholarship in Hall’s honor which will support undergraduate psychology students. Also pictured, from left to right, are Scott Brown, Alan Kraut, Jane Steinberg, Marc Baron and George Rebok.

To maximize their college experience, it is important for students to work hard, seize opportunities and engage with mentors who instill creativity and encourage them to pursue their interests. For more than 30 years, Vernon “Vern” Hall, professor emeritus of psychology, fostered meaningful research and learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students at Syracuse University.

Among them was Danny Kaye M.A. ’76, Ph.D. ’77, who worked alongside Hall in the late 1970s. Now, Kaye is honoring Hall by establishing the Professor Vernon C. Hall Endowed Psychology Scholarship. This fund will support undergraduates majoring in psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences through Syracuse University’s Forever Orange campaign. Through this new scholarship, Kaye wants to pass along the spirit of Vernon Hall’s guidance and mentoring to today’s students to set them up for success in whatever field they pursue.

Before starting at Syracuse University, Hall received a bachelor’s degree in history education at the University of Nebraska, served in the U.S. Navy and worked as a teacher at York High School in Nebraska. He then attended The Ohio State University where he earned a master’s degree in counseling psychology and a Ph.D. in developmental and educational psychology. He worked as an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska and SUNY Buffalo before coming to Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) in 1966 where he taught for over 30 years before retiring in 1999.

Hall says he was drawn to the job at Syracuse because of the psychology department’s strong reputation and robust graduate program. He focused his research on cognitive and social development with an emphasis on the impact of environmental factors in schools. An author of nearly 50 scholarly publications, his work has appeared in leading journals including Contemporary Psychology, the Journal of Educational Psychology and Child Development. His accomplished record of teaching, departmental leadership and service to the university have made a lasting impact on the success of Syracuse University and the student experience.

Read the full story on the Arts and Sciences website.