Do you ever wonder about the people for whom buildings on TWU campuses are named?

Though technically not a building, Kitty Magee Arena in Pioneer Hall pays tribute to a TWU alumna and faculty member who was a pioneer for women’s athletics in Texas.

Katherine Winter Magee earned her bachelor’s degree in 1934 and her master’s in 1938 from what then was the Texas State College for Women. She taught at her alma mater from 1938 to 1940 when she married. She returned to teach at TWU a decade later and retired as an associate professor in 1981.

Magee was the first chairwoman of the Texas Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. She was selected by the National Girls and Women in Sports in 1993 as the Texas Pathfinder in recognition of her contribution to women’s athletics, and was inducted into the TWU Athletics Hall of Fame the following year. Magee was named a TWU Distinguished Alumna in 1996.

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This is the 10th story in an occasional series on the history behind TWU buildings.

Previous stories:
Part I — Stoddard Hall
Part II — Student Union
Part III — Blagg-Huey Library
Part IV — Stark and Guinn residence halls
Part V – TWU T. Boone Pickens Institute of Health Sciences – Dallas Center
Part VI — Ann Stuart Science Complex
Part VII — Bralley Annex
Part VIII — Margo Jones Performance Hall
Part IX – Woodcock Hall