Karen Quinn’s laugh was loud and infectious as it filled the hallways at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she was always striving to keep learning interesting.
Sometimes that would mean bringing in Chicago blues musicians to her classroom.
Equally as infectious was her enthusiasm for her jobs as an educator and as Oak Park Township supervisor. Ms. Quinn, 52, who was associate director for the Academic Center for Excellence at UIC and supervisor of Oak Park Township, died of breast cancer Tuesday, Feb. 26, in Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center.
A number of colleagues called her a mentor who encouraged them to earn that extra degree or go back to school.
“She was always wanting to try new things and she never taught a course the same way twice,” said Cecelia Downs, who worked with Ms. Quinn at UIC. “She figured that if she was bored, the students would also be.”
Raised in Buffalo, Ms. Quinn started her career by teaching reading, writing and learning skills to college students at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where she also earned master’s degrees in linguistics and education.
In 1979, she moved to Oak Park and started working at UIC as coordinator of the academic skills program at the counseling center. She continued her own schooling, earning a PhD in English from the university in 1987. She also taught as an adjunct assistant professor at National-Louis University.
In 1994, she was promoted to assistant director for the Academic Center for Excellence at UIC. She developed programs for graduate students who couldn’t speak English well, students who needed help with technical writing and freshmen who needed help getting their study skills and reading up to par, colleagues said.
In 1996, the university honored her with a Chancellor’s Academic Professional Excellence Award.
She strove to stay on top of developments in her field, serving as co-editor of the journal Learning Assistance Review, and writing numerous articles about helping college students learn. She also was past president of the Midwest College Learning Center Association.
As a consultant for the City Colleges of Chicago, she helped develop a computer-based curriculum in reading, writing and learning.
Outside of work, she volunteered for Oak Park’s youth services committee from 1990 to 1997, and she was instrumental in the development of an intervention program for at-risk youth, township officials said.
Ms. Quinn entered township government in 1997, winning election to the supervisor post. She was re-elected in 2001.
“It was important to her that there be participation and an exchange of ideas,” said Oak Park Trustee Clarmarie Keenan. While that sometimes led to lively debates, Ms. Quinn encouraged the board to move toward consensus, she said.
At home, Ms. Quinn enjoyed cooking and good wine, and even made her own beer for a while, her family said. Intrigued by architecture, she was a tour guide for the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio.
Survivors include her husband, David M. Rappaport; daughter, Allison Spittle; her mother, Victoria; a sister, Vicki; a brother, Kevin; a stepson, Steven Rappaport; a stepdaughter, Amy Taylor; and two stepgrandchildren.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday in Drechsler, Brown & Williams Funeral Home, 203 S. Marion St., Oak Park.
