Home > Carnegie Center > Arizona Women's Hall of Fame > Inductees > Boehringer, C. Louise
C. Louise Boehringer
1878 - 1956
Inducted in 2008
Used by permission from the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records
C. Louise Boehringer became the first female elected to the position of
School Superintendent in Yuma County in 1913, a position which she held
until 1917. She was recognized as an authority in the area of children’s
courses of study and in 1917 she bought and became editor of the Arizona
Teacher Magazine, a teaching journal that she published ten times
a year. For many years this was the only vehicle that unified the far-flung
schools of the state and provided a forum for teachers and the Arizona
Education Association. She continued publishing this until 1939 when she
turned the magazine over to the Arizona Education Association. For many
years, she wrote articles for journals and magazines on education and pioneer
women.
In 1920 Boehringer was elected to the State Legislature. As chairman of
the education committee, she initiated many educational reforms including
the establishment of the State School Board and the first per capita state
funding of schools.. She later became director of curriculum for the Department
of Education, a position she held for six years. In 1926 she was legislative
chairman for the Arizona State Federation of Women’s clubs. Because
women were often excluded from men’s professional groups, she organized
several professional organizations for Arizona’s working women to
help them network, including the Arizona Federation of Business and Professional
Women. She served as President of the Arizona Council of Administrative
Women in Education, an organization for female county school superintendent,
high school department heads and principals. She was a pioneer member of
the National Federation of Business and Professional Women when it was
founded in St. Louis in 1919. She organized the Arizona Federation of Business
and Professional Women, became the state’s first President of that
group and worked hard for equal pay, opportunity and education for working
women. While serving as President, she drove over 1,500 miles on unpaved
roads visiting the local organizations. She also organized the Arizona
branches of the National League of American Penwomen.
Herbert Hoover appointed Louise in 1928 to spearhead the Arizona State
Better Homes Committee to provide communities with information on improving
housing conditions.
Often called “the mother of the Arizona educational system” Louise Boehringer
devoted her life to obtaining better education for all Arizona students
by continuously striving to improve the quality of the state’s educational
system. Her contributions to Arizona as a writer, educator, feminist and
legislator created a lasting legacy for future generations of working women.
Her dedication to civic and educational organizations leaves an indelible
mark on the state.
top of page
