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Lifelong Harlem Advocate to Receive Barnard Medal of Distinction
updated
05.15.08
New York,
NY — Dr. Thelma C. Davidson Adair, educator, organizer
and lifelong advocate for her Harlem community, will accept
the Barnard Medal of Distinction—Barnard College's highest
honor—at the College's 116th commencement ceremony to be
held on May 20 at 10 a.m. in upper Manhattan.
Dr. Adair
is being recognized for her extraordinary contributions to
the children and families of Harlem. For over six decades,
Adair has worked to bring educational opportunities, quality
day care services, and affordable dental and medical care
to members of her neighborhood. Harlem-born and raised, Dr.
Adair spent her undergraduate life in North Carolina where
she attended both Barber-Scotia and Bennett Colleges. She
returned home after graduation and earned masters and doctorate
degrees from Teachers College, Columbia University. Since
then, her numerous publications on early childhood education
have become authoritative guides for educators throughout
the United States.
Over sixty
years ago, in 1944, Adair helped establish Mount Morris New
Life, a children's day care center. Twenty years later, in
1965, Adair organized the first Head Start programs in Harlem.
Both programs continue to operate today and help hundreds
of children and their families in the Harlem community. In
addition, Adair and her family members facilitated the creation
of the Thelma C. Davidson Adair Center, a freestanding primary
care facility in central Harlem that provides medical and
dental care to the Harlem community, with a special emphasis
on families and seniors.
Adair
is also a Presbyterian Elder in the Mount Morris Ascension
Presbyterian Church of New York and was the first African-American
moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA). As a church Elder,
Adair is a strong voice for the full participation of women
in the ecumenical movement and a strong proponent of peace
and justice throughout the world.
"Dr.
Adair's career is truly remarkable—not solely for her
extraordinary achievements and the multitude of barriers she
has broken through in her time—but for all that she has given
to generations of families and children in Harlem," said
Judith R. Shapiro, president of Barnard College. "We
at Barnard are honored to present Dr. Adair with the Medal
of Distinction." Shapiro will preside over her final
commencement as Barnard President before she retires at the
end of June after fourteen years leading the women's college.
Accompanying
Adair to Barnard's commencement will be friend and fellow
civil rights activist, Anita Burson, Vice-President of the
NAACP's Brooklyn branch.
In addition
to honoring Adair, Barnard will celebrate the achievements
of tennis great and activist Billie Jean King and Pulitzer
Prize-winning writer and editor-in-chief of The New Yorker
David Remnick. Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg
will address the approximately 590 members of the Class of
2008. All four honorees will be awarded the Barnard Medal
of Distinction.
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