Vivian Cole worked for the University from 1942 to1981, handling invoices and requisitions for the entire campus, including Memorial Hospital at one time. She was recognized:
With nearly 39 years of service to the University, known best to those who do the difficult work of tracking its accounts payable; quiet and resourceful; cooperative and diligent; careful to see paid all that was owed and nothing that was not; versed in the arcane mysteries of accounting for state funds, trust funds, and the proceeds of contracts and grants; deeply respected by those whom she supervised and admired by those to whom she reported; a reliable resource for the University’s puzzled administrators; Vivian Cole was a worthy recipient of a C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Award in 1981.