Cornelia Storrs Adair

Cornelia Storrs Adair (November 9, 1884–April 14, 1962) was an educator and the first classroom teacher elected to serve as president (1927–1928) of the National Education Association.

Early life and education Adair was born in Red Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, the daughter of Lewis Cass Adair and Rebecca Sidney Taylor Adair. Adair graduated from Richmond (Virginia) High School. For 15 years beginning in 1904 she taught at Elba, Nicholson, Robert Fulton, and Bellevue elementary schools. She was later awarded a doctor of pedagogy from the New York State Teachers College. served as chair of the education program at the League of Women Voters, and started volunteering in the National Education Association first at the state level. She took a leave of absence from her teaching duties in the year she was serving as president.

Honors and awards

The College of William and Mary awarded her their Alumni Medallion in 1934, making her the first woman to receive this honor;