Passing of Barbara Thompson

Barbara Thompson, the first woman to serve as state superintendent of public instruction, died last week at her home in Florida at age 86. Thompson served two four-year terms in the state’s top education office from 1973-81. A news story on her passing reported that, after starting her pioneering career as an educator in the 1940s, Thompson taught at the K-12 level and also as “an instructor for Green County Teachers College in Monroe, UW-Green Bay and UW-Madison, and held administrative posts around the state.” (Note: With only limited access to employment records from the University’s earliest days or from the UW Extension years before that, the LOG was unable to confirm any additional details related to her service in Green Bay.)  See a newspaper report.