John Sperling reportedly left high school a virtual illiterate but learned to read in the Merchant Marine en route to receiving a doctorate in 1955.
Mark Brenner, chief of staff of the Apollo Education Group, the parent company of the University of Phoenix, said Sperling died Friday at a hospital near San Francisco. He did not provide a cause of death.
Sperling started the chain in the 1970s and campuses were established around the country as it became a major company and leader in adult education and online classes.
He stepped down two years ago as executive chairman of its parent company.
Detail provided by Apollo said Sperling left high school a virtual illiterate but learned to read in the Merchant Marine. After serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps, he began an educational journey that led to his receiving a doctorate in 1955.
“Dr. Sperling’s indomitable ideas and life’s work served as a catalyst for innovations widely accepted as having made higher education more accessible to adult students,” his son, current Chairman Peter Sperling, and Chief Executive Officer Greg Cappelli said in a statement on the Apollo website.
The company said that Sperling’s school introduced the idea of local satellite campuses in more than 30 states, deliberately positioning them near freeways and major intersections to help adults pursuing their degrees after work.
