[2] At UWM (where she was the first female chancellor of that university), Zimpher created the now-defunct "Milwaukee Idea", a deliberately derivative variation on the historical Wisconsin Idea that "the University's boundaries are the State's boundaries", with a strategic plan that tied UWM, with its faculty knowledge base and research facilities, to the economic health and strength of the Greater Milwaukee area,[3] and raised the profile of UWM in the region vis-a-vis crosstown rival Marquette University.

[5][6][7] Soon after taking over at SUNY, Zimpher promised to visit all 64 campuses in the sprawling system—the largest university system in the nation under a single governing board.

[9] The resulting report tallied what the New York Times described as "a litany of transgressions, including lowered admission standards and changed grades."

[11] Zimpher advocated the use of systemness to begin overhauling SUNY in her January 9, 2012 State of the University address.

She was also married to Craig Zimpher, Director of OSU residence hall Scott House, while studying for their advanced degrees at The Ohio State University from c: 1968 through the early 1970s.