The pathbreaking former head of the University of Washington’s College of Engineering died Saturday in an apparent suicide in San Francisco.

Obituaries today focus on the possible reasons behind the suicide. In Seattle she was remembered for her role in developing the region’s top engineering program.

Denise Dee Denton, who had been the first woman to head an engineering school at a major research university, was named chancellor of the University of California’s Santa Cruz campus in 2004. She was well-known for encouraging women to study math and science and gained notoriety for challenging former Harvard president Larry Summers’ comments that women may be less suited than men for those fields.

At the UW, she worked to improve teaching and restructure the engineering program. Professors at UW remembered her for mentoring women and minorities, improving morale and for shepherding a $70 million donation from the Gates Foundation for a new building. She was honored by the White House in 2004 for her role in promoting education, according to her UC biography.

In California she was involved in a UC scandal that included her housing perks and the hiring of her partner for a UC management job. Sadly, many comments posted about her online focused on that scandal and her sexual orientation. It would be nice if we could keep perspective and celebrate the contributions of an influential educator.