CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- As the country continues to mourn the death of Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a member of the University of Virginia Miller Center said she's upset to hear about her death.

Ginsburg died from complications of pancreatic cancer on Friday night.

Dr. Barbara Perry, director of presidential studies at the UVA Miller Center, said Ginsburg was a role model for her.

"I was so upset because she was not only a role model for me, given her background in supporting rights for men and women, but she was also a role model for me as someone to follow into the world of the professorship," said Perry.

She said she didn't know Ginsburg well, but received a personal note from her when her mother passed away.

"To receive a handwritten note from this icon just gave me the strength to get through a very difficult time," she said.

Perry said out of the 114 Supreme Court Justices throughout history, there have only been four women. This includes Ginsburg, who Perry describes as the founding mother for gender equity.

"Her impact on gender equity, not just for women but to get the laws of the United States to treat men equally, and not just an attempt to protect women on occasion, but to also help and protect men," she said. "She would've been the pioneer that she was in gender equity simply by leading the charge and leading the cause to bring six cases to the Supreme Court in the 1970s for gender equity. She won all but one of them."

Perry believes as early as this week, President Donald Trump could select his nomination for Ginsburg's seat.

"Republicans are going to want to have nine members on the courts so the court won't have the possibility of the tie," she said.

Perry also said if Republicans gain the majority in the U.S. Supreme Court, some rulings could be reversed.

"If you've got six conservatives, even if one abandons the pack, you're going to have a lot of conservative rulings and the country will regress at least in the minds of progressives," she said. "If Roe v. Wade is overturned, which a decidedly conservative court could do, it would certainly please people who have a right to life position."

In this moment, Perry believes Ginsburg's legacy for equity will live on for generations to come.

"Little boys, little girls, men and women can thank her for the making this a better country, a fairer country," Perry said.