Catherine Lupori taught at St. Catherine University in St. Paul for more than four decades, pressing to expand women's learning opportunities with the mantra that an all-female institution couldn't just "add women and stir."

Lupori, a beloved English professor, died Monday at age 95, leaving a legacy as a literary genius and ardent feminist.

In 1979, she led the creation of a weekend studies program for female students on the go. In 1985, she founded a women's research center to study gender disparities and to improve understanding of how women learn.

"That passion for understanding and committing to women's education — to women's ways of knowing, women's ways of learning, women's ways of teaching other women — is something that she never stepped away from," said Colleen Hegranes, St. Kate's senior vice president and provost.

Lupori remained influential on campus after retiring — appearing at events with her husband, Peter, a sculptor and former St. Kate's art professor, and participating in the annual Conversation With Books event she designed in 1964.

Lupori believed the power of books was unlocked by conversation, about them, by studying and even by rereading them.

"You miss so much of a good book if you read it only once, because while the book stays the same, you change over time," she said in an interview this year for the school's magazine. "Did you ever say to yourself, 'I've heard that Beethoven once. I don't have to listen to that again.' Or, 'I've already seen that Cézanne. I don't need to go back to the museum.' Writing is art."

Lupori was a feminist "in her bones" who believed women would gain success and equality if they dedicated themselves to learning, Hegranes said. She not only created weekend classes in 1979 — an achievement underappreciated in today's era of online learning — she made sure the classes were as rich as those conducted during the week. She also served as English department chair.

Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt arrived at St. Kate's as a student from India in 1990 and said Lupori was "the first fierce feminist I knew." She was awed that Lupori took vocal stands on issues of reproductive rights that were contrary to Catholic teachings. Now an English professor at Linfield College in Oregon, Dutt-Ballerstadt said she draws strength from her mentor's example.

"Every time I have an opportunity to be fearless, knowing there are consequences, Catherine always comes to me mind," she said.

In comments on Lupori's online obituary, students recalled her dry wit and her way of teaching Shakespeare by performing it.

"Mrs. Lupori was the most 'with-it' teacher in the early 70s," wrote Jane Wold Wagemaker, who teaches religion at Nativity of Mary School in Bloomington. "She taught me how to write honestly and without fluff. She brought Shakespeare to life."

Books and small bookstores remained passions as Lupori aged, said Kay Bendel, a friend and former student. She didn't fear technology's impact on reading — though arthritis made it tough to switch pages on her Nook — but lamented the decline of letter-writing and worried that today's young women didn't understand past fights for equality.

When she returned from the hospital last week to receive hospice care at home, Lupori struggled to swallow and speak, but little had changed when Ruth Brombach and another close friend visited Saturday.

"She said to me," Brombach recalled, " 'Talk to me about books.' "

Lupori is survived by her husband, son John, and daughter Maria. A funeral service is scheduled at 7 p.m. Tuesday at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Minneapolis. Visitation starts at 5:30 p.m.