Jane H. Rider

Jane H. Rider (August 18, 1889 – March 4, 1981) was an American engineer and bacteriologist. She was the first female engineer in Arizona. Her career largely focused on the health field, including sanitary engineering, hospital surveying, and hospital construction. She worked as the Arizona State Director of Hospital Surveys from 1948 to 1961.

Biography Jane Herbst Rider was born on August 18, 1889, to Percy Sower Rider and Bessie (née Herbst) Rider in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. Her father and grandfather were both engineers, partially inspiring her profession.

In 1911, Rider was the first female engineering graduate at the University of Arizona, achieving a bachelors degree and being the fourth graduate of the Department of Civil Engineering. She was the first woman licensed in Arizona as an engineer. Rider also completed some graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania.

In her senior year of college, Rider discovered an interest in bacteriology.

During World War I, Rider took a leave of absence to work with the American Red Cross.

Rider and a Public Health Engineer conducted a large survey, an E. coli index of irrigation ditches. The project was a large and complicated one. The Public Health Service published the results and Rider presented the project to the American Public Health Association in 1930.

In 1947, Rider was appointed to chairman of the Arizona State Board of Health, in this position, she was responsible for the allocation of 2.5 million dollars in federal funding as a result of the Hill-Burton Act of 1946.

In 1948, Rider began working as the state director of hospital surveys. She remained in this position until her retirement in 1961. March 1, 1960: 75th Anniversary Medallion of Merit, University of Arizona 1963: Distinguished Citizen Award, University of Arizona 1970: Phoenix Woman of the Year, Phoenix Advertising Club 1982: Arizona Women's Hall of Fame An endowed scholarship in Rider's name is awarded annually to several Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics students Senior member of the National Society of Women Engineers