Library exhibition documents life of alumna Anne X. Alpern

Along with new carpeting and a nearly finished, renovated plaza, returning students have… Along with new carpeting and a nearly finished, renovated plaza, returning students have likely noticed one other new feature of the Hillman Library.

The Hillman’s ground floor foyer houses a new exhibition of the personal papers, letters and photographs of Anne X. Alpern – the keystone state’s first female attorney general.

The exhibition offers insight into both the public and private life of a woman who defied the odds to succeed in the field of law when it was dominated by men.

Alpern, who was born in Russia and moved to nearby Scenery Hill as a child, began her illustrious career at Pitt, receiving her bachelor’s degree in 1923 and her law degree in 1927.

After graduation she worked at a local law firm but was not permitted to argue cases in court. But by taking the cases no one else wanted and winning them with little preparation, Alpern began receiving a steady supply of cases.

In 1934, Pittsburgh’s city solicitor hired her to help handle a backlog of cases in the city’s courts. By 1942, Alpern had taken over her boss’ position and became Pittsburgh’s first female city solicitor, establishing a pattern of pioneering that continued for the rest of her life.

During her tenure as city solicitor, Alpern developed a reputation for impartiality by attacking government corruption wherever she found it. She also favored pollution controls and promoted improvements for the public transit system.

Alpern left her position as city solicitor in 1953 when she ran for judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County. Though she was a Democrat, her impartiality won her the election through widespread bipartisan support.

She served there until 1959 when Governor David Lawrence, who had known Alpern during his tenure as mayor of Pittsburgh, appointed her attorney general of Pennsylvania. Alpern was not only the first woman to serve as attorney general in Pennsylvania but also the first woman to serve in this position anywhere in the U.S..

In 1961, Alpern served briefly on the State Supreme Court before returning to her old job at the Allegheny County court where she retired in 1974. Alpern died in Pittsburgh in 1981.

The exhibition has an eye-catching mix of photographs, including one of Alpern with Eleanor Roosevelt, and a few copies of Alpern’s speeches. One speech, addressed to the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, “A Prompt Trial Is the Right of Every Litigant,” highlights Alpern’s perspective that courts must do everything in their power not to delay case proceedings.

This is a familiar theme in Alpern’s career. During her work in the mid ’30s assisting Pittsburgh’s city solicitor, Alpern worked through a backlog of cases in the city’s courts. Alpern drew from this experience later in her career to explain to law students how court delays put an immense financial and emotional strain on plaintiffs.

Michael Dabrishus, assistant university librarian for archives, special collections and preservation, conceived of the exhibition when it was first being processed in December 2006.

“I thought [the exhibition at the Hillman] would be a means to announce the availability of the collection,” Dabrishus said.

The unprocessed collection was previously held at the Law Library until 2002 when it was transferred to the University’s Archives Service Center, located near Wilkinsburg.

In late 2006, the Archives Service Center received a grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission that made it possible to process the Alpern collection. Processing, according to Dabrishus, is a tedious task that consists of “describing and arranging the material [that is] similar.”

Dabrishus thinks that the processed collection will be useful to all kinds of scholars and historians, since Alpern’s papers would interest both historians researching Pitt in the ’20s as well as the higher echelons of Pennsylvania politics during the mid-20th century.

And Dabrishus welcomes Pitt students to see the whole collection in its entirety at the Archives Service Center. For easy access, a shuttle service runs on the hour between the Hillman and the ASC.

Dabrishus could not say for sure if scholars were already utilizing the Alpern collection, but he did not shy away from the question.

“I can assure you it will be used because it has such significance.”