Sister Joel Read, who shaped Milwaukee's Alverno College and was among nation's top college innovators, dies at 91

May 26, 2017

Sister Joel Read, Alverno's longest-serving president and a trailblazer in education reform, passed away at the age of 91. Thiscollection of all of the media coverage demonstrates what a profound impact she had on the city, our community and beyond.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ran this story about her, as well as this tribute written by Alan Borsuk. They also ran reactions from alumnae and others.

Several other publications also ran stories including BizTimes,The Business Journal, Inside Higher Ed and Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service.

TMJ4 aired a story remembering Sister Joel that featured an interview with her from 2003 when she retired.

CBS58 aired a story that included a statement from Mayor Tom Barrett, and posted this on their website Here is Mayor Tom Barrett'sstatement in its entirety: “SisterJoel Readwas a magnificent person andin many ways larger than life. Sister Read and I worked on education issues together. As a member of Congress and as Mayor, I would often sit down with her and gain her thoughts on what more we can do to improve education. She would let anybody know how she felt and why she felt that way, which I respected immensely. Education was her calling and clearly her passion in life. It went beyond education in the classroom, but also how you educate the whole person and have a more involved electorate because that was very important to her. I believe that her legacy will live on atAlvernoCollege and in Milwaukee because her fingerprints were so strong. She was a saint in the City. My thoughts and prayers are with her loved ones during this time.” There was a letter to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editor about how privileged Milwaukee was to have Sister Joel.

Several TV stations covered her funeral, including TMJ4, 12 News and CBS 58. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel also covered her funeral.