William George Carr

William George Carr (1901 – March 1, 1996) was an educator and author who is most known for being the Executive Secretary (chief administrator) of the National Education Association from 1952 to 1967. He was the teaching consultant for the U.S. delegation to the charter meetings for the United Nations and UNESCO in 1945 and 1946. He also served as General Secretary and President of the World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession from 1946 to 1972.

Early life Carr was born in Northampton, England, to Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Sutton Carr. While he was a child, the family immigrated to Canada in 1906. They lived in Red Deer, Alberta. The family moved again, this time to Los Angeles, California when his father (a cabinet maker) became a consultant to the movie industry on authentic period furniture.

Education and early career He graduated with his bachelor's degree from the University of California at Los Angeles. While at UCLA he was president of Delta Sigma Chi local fraternity and oversaw it becoming a chapter of Sigma Pi fraternity. He was also a member of the varsity debating team and track team. After attaining his bachelor's degree he married Elizabeth Vaughan, of Los Angeles in September 1924.

Upon graduation, Carr taught at the Roosevelt Junior High School in Glendale, California in 1924. At the same time he began working on his master's degree which he attained from Stanford University in 1926. He then became the Head of the Education Department at Pacific University for a year. In 1927, he took a position as Research Director for the California Teachers Association and began working on his Ph.D from Stanford. He earned his Ph.D. in 1929 where his dissertation was a biography of John Swett.

NEA and professional life

In 1929, Carr moved to Washington D.C. to become the Assistant Research Director for the National Education Association. In 1946, he was named General Secretary of the World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession (WCOTP) and became a consultant for UNESCO. His view in the 1940s was that the United States needed to end its isolationist tendencies by teaching that the country "is now and forever bound up in the affairs of the world."

In 1966, Carr oversaw the merger of the NEA with the American Teachers Association.

During his time at the NEA he was awarded the many honorary degrees including: LL.D. degree, honoris causa, by Miami University in 1953; the L.H.D. degree honoris causa, by Columbia University in 1954 and by Boston University in 1957. He was also a member of the U.S. Commission on the Bicentennial of the Constitution and a member of the Cosmos Club. International Frontiers in Education – 1944 Education In A Changing Society – 1963 The Continuing Education of William Carr. An Autobiography. - 1978 Collecting My Thoughts - 1980 The Oldest Delegate -- Franklin in the Constitutional Convention. – 1990