The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture

BOREN, MOLLY WANDA SHI (1943– ).

Molly Wanda Shi Boren, jurist and civic leader, served as Oklahoma’s twentieth first lady from November 27, 1977, to January 8, 1979. Born on June 11, 1943, in Ada, Oklahoma, she was one of seven children of Augustin Henry Shi, Jr., and Molly Wanda Winn. Her part-Choctaw father was a farmer and rancher near Stratford, Oklahoma. A graduate of East Central College (now East Central University) in Ada, her mother taught school.

Molly Shi Boren had various careers that focused on education and law. A 1961 honors graduate of Stratford High School, she gained a bachelor’s degree in English from East Central College (now East Central University) and a master’s degree in English from the University of Oklahoma. While attending East Central, she worked as an English assistant and tutored her peers to improve their writing skills. After graduating, she taught English for several years at Byng public schools. Furthering her education at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, she attained a juris doctorate in May 1974 and passed the Oklahoma Bar Association exam. She soon opened a law practice in Ada. In July 1975 she was appointed special district judge of Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, a position she held until her marriage.

On November 27, 1977, Molly Shi married David Lyle Boren, governor of Oklahoma, in a private ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion in Oklahoma City. Molly Boren converted the house’s basement into a playroom for David Boren’s two children from a previous marriage. She did not think it was necessary to redecorate the residence, because her predecessor, Jo Evans Hall, had recently refurbished it. Boren promoted Oklahoma artists by displaying their works in the mansion. When David Boren was elected in 1974 as U.S. senator in Washington, D.C., the family moved to the nation’s capital, and Molly Boren worked briefly as a federal government attorney in 1980. David Boren became president of the University of Oklahoma in 1994. As first lady of the University of Oklahoma (OU) from 1994 to 2018, Molly Boren directed landscaping and building restorations on the university campuses in Norman, Tulsa, and Oklahoma City.

In addition to supporting her husband David Boren as governor, U.S. senator, and OU president, Molly Boren has been the director of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, a nonprofit organization established by her husband in 1985. The foundation recognizes and awards outstanding students and educators. In 1990 and 1992 she headed the Oklahoma Arts Institute. She served as the first woman on the Board of Trustees of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation and was also the first woman member of the Ada Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, Molly Boren has supported the Sarkeys Foundation, the Gilcrease Museum, the Jasmine Moran Children’s Museum, and the National Governors of Nature Conservancy. In 2003 she received the Athena Award, given to individuals who have achieved excellence in leadership and service in their communities. For her many contributions to the state, she was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2004.

Linda D. Wilson