Janet Galloway

Janet Anne Galloway (1841–1909) was an advocate for higher education for women in Scotland, supporter of the Glasgow Association for the Higher Education of Women and secretary of Queen Margaret College.

Early life Janet Anne Galloway was born in Birdston, Stirlingshire, Scotland on 10 October 1841, the only surviving daughter of the four children born to Anne Bald and Alexander Galloway (1802–1883) a land surveyor and estate factor. She moved with her family to Glasgow in 1844, where her father worked as a land agent, valuer, and accountant.

Education Galloway was initially educated in Scotland, before attending schools in France, Germany, and Netherlands where she learned to speak French and German fluently. She also developed an interest in history and archaeology and was taught bookkeeping and business methods by her father. John Caird, principal of the University of Glasgow at the time, was the first Chairman of its General Committee. Galloway was responsible for recruiting teachers lecturers and examiners, and helped to develop and plan teaching methods and standards. Galloway was the first secretary of the college, though she refused to accept any remuneration for her duties. She took a keen interest in the pastoral life of the university's female students; she organised social events and gatherings, encouraged the formation of societies and unions, and followed their careers after they graduated. In 1885, she was one of the founders of the Queen Margaret Guild, an organisation that arranged talks for the university extension movement. In 1894, she helped found the student residence Queen Margaret Hall. which was part of the social reform settlement movement established in the 1880s. In 1893, Galloway was invited to the Chicago Great Exhibition as a representative of Queen Margaret College. She initially believed that Queen Margaret College should educate women in their traditional roles, rather than equip them to enter men's professions.

Death and memorial

Galloway, who remained unmarried, continued working up until her unexpected death on 23 January 1909. She died at her home on Queen Margaret Drive, Glasgow. After a grand funeral in the Bute Hall of the University of Glasgow, Galloway was buried in the Campsie Churchyard, Lennoxtown.

Following her death, a fund was raised for a memorial window in the Bute Hall: the Janet Galloway Memorial Window, titled The Pursuit of Ideal Education, pictures Janet alongside Isabella Elder and Jessie Campbell. Galloway was succeeded by Frances Melville, who became the Mistress of the college and remained as such until the college's closure in 1935.