Historic Robertson Hall

Completed in 1925 and named for Ann Worcestor Robertson, a prominent woman in Oklahoma history, Robertson Hall was one of the university’s first dormitories and was opened only to women. Robertson, born in Tennessee, moved to Indian Territory with her missionary parents in 1835, worked as a missionary in the Creek Nation, and before her death in 1880 translated the entire New Testament and a large portion of the Old Testament into the Creek language. Although Robertson Hall has not served as a residential hall since 1972, it remains important to understanding the role of women at the University of Oklahoma. By the time it was completed, women had been attending classes with men for several years and were enrolling in numbers nearly equal to men. Founded as a coeducational institution, the University of Oklahoma has traditionally offered prominent places for women as students and as members of its faculty and staff. Its first president, David Ross Boyd, actively recruited women students. In 1901, Fantene Samuels became the university’s first female graduate. Other women also played pioneering roles there, including Grace King, who came to Norman near the turn of the century at age sixteen to chair the music department and became the first woman to hold such a position on the university faculty. Since King’s tenure, women professors have served the university’s academic community in virtually every capacity.

Norman, Oklahoma · United States