She should have obtained her degree in 1959, but at the time she wasn’t allowed to student teach — a requirement for graduation — because she was pregnant with her and her husband’s first of four daughters. But Justin Dimmel, associate dean for the College of Education and Human Development, and other officials determined this year that when Alexander worked as a full-time aide for a preschool program in the early 1980s, that was enough to satisfy the mandate.

The octogenarian graduated with a bachelor of science in education.