Strong women have held up Boise State University from the beginning. In fact, back in the school’s earliest days, it was originally supposed to be an all-girls school.
In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the lack of higher education opportunities in the Treasure Valley inspired educational leadership in Idaho to convert Boise’s St. Margaret’s School for Girls into an accredited all-girls two-year school — Boise Junior College (BJC).
After young men in Idaho fought to also have access to the opportunities offered by a junior college and garnered the support of the Boise community, school leadership changed their plan. Boise Junior College officially opened its doors in 1932, allowing both men and women to enroll.
“[Many] colleges or universities started out as all-boys institutions, and only after decades of existence were women finally admitted,” said Gwyn Hervochon, archivist in the Albertsons Library Special Collections and Archives. “It’s a really fun fact that we’re almost the opposite. The original idea behind Boise Junior College was that it would be a school for women.”
Since then, the school has undergone countless changes, eventually evolving into the university we know today. Through all of those changes, the women of Boise State have continually broken glass ceilings, become leaders in innovation and shaped the school’s history and future.
Although Boise Junior College was co-educational, there were key separations for male and female students. For example, women studying at BJC had their own dean, known as the “Dean of Women,” a position that existed from 1932 until 1973.
The first Dean of Women at BJC was Dorothy F. Atkinson, whose responsibility was to ensure the general welfare of all female students. She served as a counselor for women facing personal or educational conflicts, organized women’s housing and advised women’s student organizations.
In the school’s first year, eight of the 12 faculty were women. Two of those women had PhDs, one of whom was Atkinson.
In the earliest days of the school, students were making history, too. The first international student at the school was a woman named Carmen Monsanto from Guatemala, who arrived in Boise in 1946.
According to the Boise State archives, Monsanto’s mother lived in Boise during World War II, where she met Camille Power, a French and Spanish professor and Dean of Women. After meeting Power, Monsanto’s mother decided to send her to school at BJC.
While studying at Boise Junior College, Monsanto also worked as an assistant instructor in the Spanish Department. According to The Arbiter’s archives, Monsanto greatly contributed to the school’s Spanish club, cooking Guatemalan meals and sharing her culture with her classmates. Monsanto’s father, who was the Guatemalan ambassador to Mexico, would often visit for his daughter’s birthday and speak to BJC students about his work and his country.
In 1965, BJC became a four-year college, known as Boise College. It remained that way until 1974, when the school finally became known as Boise State University.
Two years before that, in 1972, a woman named Mamie Oliver became the first Black professor to teach at the school, where she would stay for 16 years.
During her time teaching social work, sociology and education at Boise State, Oliver spoke out against racial discrimination and documented the history of Black Idahoans, often enlisting the help of her students. She always aimed to engage her students, exposing them to stories and cultures other than their own.
In 2020, Oliver was awarded the Esto Perpetua Award from the Idaho State Historical Society (ISHS), a distinguished award that “honors those who go above and beyond to preserve and promote Idaho’s rich historical and cultural legacy,” according to the ISHS. In November of 2025, Oliver, who still lives in the Boise area today, celebrated her 90th birthday.
While many influential women have worked as professors at Boise State, many women have had a powerful impact on Boise State athletics as well. Connie Thorngren was one of them, playing an essential role in bringing women’s athletics programs to Boise State University.
When Thorngren started teaching at the school in 1970, Boise College only permitted women to play club sports. Thorngren coached four women’s teams at the time: volleyball, basketball, field hockey and track and field. The club teams didn’t receive any funding, so Thorngren and her players made their own uniforms and carpooled to games.
Following the passage of Title IX, Thorngren oversaw the transition of women’s club sports into a full athletics program and became Boise State’s first women’s athletic director. That change in women’s athletics allowed for women’s sports to receive funding, offer athletic scholarships and grow into the program it is today. Thorngren coached several championship-winning women’s teams and played a pivotal role in opening the door for future generations of girls and women.
“Sports history is super important here, and rightly so, but the emphasis has often been on football and men’s sports, but Connie was a real leader in women’s sports and women’s athletics,” Hervochon said. “It’s fun to have a legend to point to who is a woman and who really helped make the athletic program for women so robust and strong like it is now.”
Thorngren spent many years studying and advocating for female coaches and athletes in Idaho, as well as writing against homophobia in the public perception of female athletes. She was inducted into the Boise State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993 before her retirement in 2000. She passed away in 2017, leaving behind a legacy of empowering women in sports.
The first woman to be inducted into the Boise State Athletics Hall of Fame was Elaine Elliott in 1983. Elliott was a multi-sport athlete, playing basketball, volleyball, softball and field hockey.
Elliott was honored for her standout performances in both basketball and field hockey. Following her collegiate career as a player, Elliott became the head coach of the women’s basketball team at the University of Utah, where she became the winningest coach in program history.
Since those early days of women’s athletics at Boise State, many Bronco women have gone on to win national championships, be honored as All-Americans, compete in the Olympics and carry on the legacy of the pioneers of Boise State women’s athletics.
Even in top leadership roles at Boise State, many women have paved the way, bringing forth meaningful change and shaping curriculum, policy and the student experience.
In 1996, the first woman became a college dean at Boise State University. Jane C. Ollenburger served as Dean for the College of Social Science and Public Affairs from 1996-2001.
During her time at Boise State, Ollenburger engaged students outside of the classroom by speaking at women’s leadership conferences and bringing new research opportunities to those studying in her program. Since Ollenburger, fourteen women have served as college deans at Boise State.
In 1980, Boise State students elected their first female ASBSU president, a student named Sally Thomas.
Thomas held more leadership positions than just ASBSU president. From 1978 to 1980, Thomas was also the Editor-in-Chief of The Arbiter, becoming the fifth woman to hold that title. Since then, 29 women at The Arbiter have served as Editor-In-Chief.
In 2019, Dr. Marlene Tromp became the seventh president of Boise State University and the first woman at Boise State to serve in the role.
“Women have been involved since the very beginning, and that’s continued right up until most recently, having our first woman president. It was super exciting to crack that glass ceiling when that finally happened,” Hervochon said.
Tromp served as university president for six years. In 2025, she left Boise State to become the 28th President of the University of Vermont.
From the day Boise Junior College opened its doors in 1932 to today, the women of Boise State have shaped history.
“In history, a lot of times women’s voices aren’t as elevated as men’s,” Hervochon said. “It’s super important that we as archivists make sure we’re preserving and telling women’s stories.”
Standing on the shoulders of the women who came before, current and future women at Boise State University have more doors open to them than ever before.
“Obviously women have been able to [go to college] for a long time now, but at one point they weren’t able to, so I definitely don’t take that for granted,” said Grace Oberg, a senior studying psychology.
Mary Teel, a freshman studying film, said the women she looks up to at Boise State inspire her to have an open mind and work toward her goals.
“It’s really encouraging to see that as a woman in a certain field of study, you can make progress and be an expert in that field, even though you may have obstacles,” Teel said.
As Boise State grows, there is no doubt the future generations of women who study, work and excel here will continue to break records, create change and shape the future of the university.
“You can’t help but be proud of the fact that women have always been a focus here,” Hervochon said. “The importance of education for women was part of what got our University started in the first place.”
