2006 William T. Boehm (B.S. '69)
Professor and Economist
2006 William T. Boehm
Boehm, a 1969 graduate of UW-RF, is a senior vice president at the Kroger Co. in Cincinnati, Ohio. He received his bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics and went on to earn a master of science degree in 1972 and a Ph.D. degree in 1974 at Purdue University.
He became an assistant professor of agricultural economics at Virginia Tech before joining the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1976. There he served as a senior economist and research manager until 1979.
From 1979 until 1981, Boehm was the senior economist for Food and Agriculture with the President’s Council of Economic Advisors.
In 1981, Boehm joined the Kroger Co., one of the largest retail food companies in the United States, as the director of economic research. He was promoted to vice president of corporate planning and research in 1986 and then to vice president of grocery procurement in 1989.
In October 1994, Boehm became vice president of logistics for Kroger. He was in that position until 2001, when he became a member of Kroger’s senior management.
Boehm has also been an active member of Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity since his initiation in 1968. He served as the Noble Ruler at UW-River Falls (Alpha Psi) and was Chapter Advisor at Purdue (Delta) and Virginia Tech (Beta Eta). He also was elected to the AGR national Board of Directors in 1996, served as the financial vice president from 1998 to 2000 and was elected Grand President at the fraternity’s convention in 2000.
Along with being involved in his fraternity, Boehm has been actively involved in a number of professional and civic organizations.
He was the FFA Wisconsin State President in 1967 and the National Vice President in 1968. Boehm was also on FFA’s board for six years, from 1995 to 2000, and raised $7.4 million dollars while serving as chairman in 1999. He was the first national FFA officer to chair the sponsor’s board.
Boehm was named recipient of the Purdue University School of Agriculture Outstanding Alumni Award in 1999.
