Hoffman received her bachelor's degree at Pitt in 1954 in psychology, having switched her major from chemistry when an aptitude test revealed she was too sociable to be working alone in a lab. She later proved this assessment true in her role as administrative assistant in Pitt's Office of the Chancellor, where she served three chancellors and the Pitt community for 30 years before opting for an "early retirement" at the age of 80 in 2012.
