Wonder Women

A series of posts featuring women at the university and broader community.

22 Posts

Noted Educator Aurelia Henry Reinhardt

Esther Thomas scrapbook program
In 1898, the University of Idaho hired Aurelia Henry before she graduated from UC Berkeley to teach elocution and physical culture–physical culture being women’s physical education. While at the U of I, she started the first dramatics club on the university campus. Aurelia Henry poses as Kate Hardcastle in Idaho... [Read More]

Dianne S. Milhollin

Dianne Milhollin
In 1977, Dianne S. Milhollin became the first coordinator of the Student Disability Services subdivision. This service fell under the Student Advisory Services department and was a result of the Rehabilitation Act in 1973. This act ruled that all federally funded institutions must provide accommodations to all programs for students... [Read More]

Louise Shadduck

The Lioness of Idaho

Louise Shadduck
Last summer, the University of Idaho Special Collections and Archives applied for a grant to process the papers of Idaho journalist, political activist, public servant, author, speaker, and lobbyist, Louise Shadduck. Offered through the Idaho State Historical Records Advisory Board this grant provided funding for archival materials and to supplement... [Read More]

Lily Wai

Wonder Women

Lily Wai [1]
Lily Wai was born in Hangzhou, China on 29 September 1939. In 1946, her parents and three siblings moved to the village of Wu-er in Taiwan. In 1961, Wai moved to Kansas for graduate school and met her husband Chien. They married in Los Angeles in 1965. [Read More]

Grace Fenton

Wonder Women

Grace Fenton
Grace Fenton Roberts was the first woman to graduate from the College of Engineering at the University of Idaho, graduating in 1938. Unfortunately, not much is known about her exact degree program or what she went on to do with her degree. [Read More]

100 Years of Women's Suffrage

Joint Resolution No.2  [1]
Today, we are commemorating the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment. After a decades long struggle, the women’s suffrage movement saw the United States Congress grant women the right to vote. This momentous moment was a large step towards women’s equality in the country, allowing women to... [Read More]

Jean'ne Shreeve

Women in STEM

Dr. Jean'ne M. Shreeve [2]
Since arriving in 1961, Distinguished Professor Dr. Jean’ne M. Shreeve has established a reputation as a world authority on fluorine chemistry, published more than 500 scholarly journal articles, and served on numerous boards and committees, including as Chair of the President’s Committee on the National Medal of Science from 2003-2007.... [Read More]