Irene Hazard Gerlinger

Who is Irene Hazard Gerlinger?

Irene Hazard Gerlinger was an American fundraiser and the first woman on the University of Oregon Board of Regents. She is the namesake for Gerlinger Hall on the University of Oregon campus.

Irene Hazard, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Rider Hazard, was born circa 1886 in Orange County, New York on her family's farm. Her father had a large cattle ranch in Arizona, where Gerlinger spent some of her early childhood. She died in 1960 after being a resident of Oregon for 24 years. She described herself as "a simple housewife, the 'cruel' mother-in-law to three fine young sons-in-law, grandmother to four young descendants, and a volunteer public servant by way of an avocation."