Kanye West’s mother, Donda West, the former chairwoman of Chicago State University's English department, died today. A West spokesperson confirmed the death, saying "the family respectfully asks for privacy during this time of grief."

Donda West worked in higher education for 31 years, before leaving academia in 2004 to help manage her son's career. She became her son’s manager and the chairwoman of The Kanye West Foundation.

Donda West began her teaching career at Brown College in Atlanta but after she divorced Ray West, Kanye’s father, she and her son moved to Chicago. In 1980 she took a position at Chicago State University where she eventually became a full professor and the chairperson of the Department of English and Speech. Kanye West dropped out of Chicago State University as an English major to pursue his music career.

Earlier this year, in May, she released a book, "Raising Kanye: Life Lessons From the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar " that chronicled her son's childhood.

In an interview for Jet Magazine Donda West said that she trained her son for greatness. "There is no room for shyness. I raised him that way, to think critically and analytically and not be afraid to voice what you feel. I helped shape that. I think leaders are people who must do that."

Also Kanye West expressed her love for his mother in the in the foreword to “Raising Kanye”. "When I wrote that song, 'Hey... Mama!' about my mom, I worked on it for months. I wanted to make it as great as she is," Kanye wrote. "I wanted to tell the whole world about our friendship and how it came to be. I also wanted to talk about her in the most artistic way I could.”