Baylor President Rufus Burleson (1823-1901) and his wife Georgia Jenkins Burleson (1833-1924) believed that female education was an important component of the life of Baylor University, and the two provided significant contributions to the cause.
Georgia Burleson Hall was completed in 1889, and is one of the four original Baylor campus buildings that surround the Rufus C. Burleson Quadrangle. Georgia Burleson, a woman of strong character and mother of five surviving children, became officially involved in Baylor's affairs after her children reached adulthood, serving as the matron of the dormitory that bore her name. Despite her progressive ideas regarding female education, Georgia Burleson retained and enforced strict, conservative notions of female piety and behavior. Mrs. Burleson upheld these virtues throughout her lifetime, and succeeded in instilling them in the young women who resided in Burleson Hall.
Burleson Hall has served not only as living quarters for the young women of Baylor, but in its early years as a training ground for social as well as academic education. Proper dining and dress were taught to the residents, and the dormitory was also home to several female literary societies, such as the Rufus Columbus Burleson Literary Society and the Georgia Burleson Literary Society.
While the strict codes of conduct imposed by Georgia Burleson have relaxed over the years, the results of her commitment to encouraging character, piety, and the thirst for education is the female students of Baylor can still be seen today.
2009
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