First, a teacher

Read’s ultimate love was teaching. Before becoming Alverno’s president in 1968, she taught history and chaired the history department.

Her vision for learning guided development of a distinctive ability-based, “assessment-as-learning” curriculum rolled out in 1973. The approach still draws educators from around the world to visit Alverno and see it in action.

The basic premise: As students develop knowledge in academic disciplines, they should also master the complex skills needed to put that knowledge to use. The focus should be on developing abilities, rather than making grades. Students need to be able to demonstrate skills and knowledge.

Under her leadership, Alverno launched one of the first internship programs in the country and initiated Weekend College targeted at working women.

“Take risks,” she once told Alverno graduates. “Don’t ever think that something can’t be done. It can. Opportunity is everywhere.”

Miller said he was “one of the lucky ones” who got to spend a lot of time with her. “I listened a lot. She was worth listening to . ... A lot of Milwaukee beat a path to her door to get advice from her, and she gave it.”

National leaders in political and education circles also sought her counsel. President Jimmy Carter appointed her to the National Council on the Humanities. Presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton invited her to the White House to discuss educational policy.

In the 1986 book, “The Many Lives of Academic Presidents,” she was singled out as one of a handful of college presidents who broke educational ground in the past 100 years.