The Reading Lady: Marilyn Howard ’60 ‘65

Education propelled Marilyn Howard ’60, ’65 from Mackay to head of the class in Idaho’s education system. She points to two core pillars that supported her: reading and social responsibility.

“I was known as a ‘reading person,’ that was my calling card,” Howard said. “I was taught to believe you had to be smart, but also be good. Understand your civic responsibility and be a good community member.”

Howard, retired after two terms as Idaho superintendent of public instruction (1999-2007) and a stint with the U.S. Department of Education, now serves on multiple boards. Two — Garden City’s Learning Lab and Boise’s Wassmuth Center for Human Rights — speak to her core pillars.

When Howard arrived in Moscow as an undergraduate, she discovered a community with ideas where each individual was important.

“I was a real small-town kid. The fact that I could be accepted and comfortable there was important. My instructors took a real interest,” she said. “There was a real personal touch that was important to me.”

Howard is proud her daughter and grandson have also graduated from U of I.

Article by Steve Corda, College of Education, Health and Human Sciences.

Published in the Spring 2019 issue of Here We Have Idaho.