Boise State University

04/28/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 04/28/2026 16:23

Mulhern to retire after 18 years at Boise State

Margaret Mulhern, clinical professor in teaching, learning and community engagement, will retire after 18 years at Boise State and 30 years of service in the multilingual and literacy education community in Idaho.

Margaret Mulhern

Mulhern began her career at Boise State in 1996 as an assistant professor in elementary education. She taught courses in bilingual and multicultural education as well as English as second language to graduate and undergraduate students. Her research focused on family literacy and emergent literacy in Spanish.

At the first College of Education meeting in 1996, Mulhern met Greg Martinez, and the couple got married in 1999 on the same date of the original meeting. Martinez and Mulhern both taught multicultural education courses as well as presenting and publishing content that was inclusive of LGBTQ+ families in elementary education. Martinez retired from Boise State in 2025 as the Director of the Center for Educational Opportunities.

In 2002, Mulhern stepped away from her tenured position at the university to raise her two young children and to pursue other professional opportunities. From 2004-2005, Mulhern represented Boise State as a Fulbright scholar, teaching courses to undergraduate and faculty in the English teaching program at the Autonomous University of Chiapas in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico.

Over the following years, Margaret participated in community work related to her expertise, including advocating for and consulting in the Boise School District when they started two bilingual schools. She and a group of Spanish-speaking mothers started a Spanish-speaking story time at the Boise and Garden City libraries.

Mulhern then worked with her former Boise State graduate students as a consultant for the English as a second language and migrant programs at the Idaho Department of Education. She supported districts throughout the state who were implementing the new co-teaching model for teaching multilingual learners as well as evaluating state and federal programs.

In 2013, Mulhern returned to the College of Education to create a new elementary education program in Teaching English Speakers of Other Languages. She accepted a clinical faculty position in 2014, once again teaching courses and supervising teacher candidates.

Mulhern became a board member and then president of the Idaho Association of Bilingual Education, and was recently honored by the association for her 30 years of work in Idaho advocating for multilingual learner education.

"I'm grateful for my wonderful colleagues and students at Boise State, and for the opportunity to work in the educational community in Idaho for the past 30 years," Mulhern said.

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