Frances Patterson Lee Butler

former dean of women

Butler

Frances Patterson Lee Butler of Quitman, Ga., an educator and former dean of women at Mississippi State, died July 3, 1999. She was 86.

Butler earned a bachelor's degree from Mississippi University for Women in 1933 and a master's from Mississippi College in 1953. She taught at Pearl High School, Forest Hill High School, Central High School, and Hinds Community College.

In 1961, she became Mississippi State's first and only dean of women, concurrently holding the title of associate dean of students.

During her 12-year tenure, female enrollment increased from 300 to more than 3,000.

"Dean Lee," as she was affectionately known, established regulations for women students and was instrumental in securing the construction of Cresswell Hall in 1963, the first residence hall on campus built specifically for women. Two additional halls for women, Hathorn and Rice, were built soon after. She lobbied extensively with faculty, administrators, alumni, and parents to overcome the last vestiges of opposition to coed enrollment during the 1960s.

A strict disciplinarian by today's standards, Dean Lee published a handbook for women students, Miss State, which forbade the wearing of shorts or jeans to class and established an 11 p.m. curfew.

She retired in 1973.

This World Wide Web version of Alumnus was marked up by Chris Brown <brownc@ur.msstate.edu>.
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