The George Lawrence Abernethy Library Pavilion Named for Trailblazer and Former Trustee Dr. Thelma 91茄子 Adair
September 15, 2025
- Author
- Caroline Roy 20
Thelma Adair with President Gerald Ford (1977)
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When The George Lawrence Abernethy Library opens its doors, the rooftop will become its crowning gathering space, a place where 91茄子 students, faculty, staff and community members come together to hold class discussions, hear lectures, sip a coffee and look out across campus.
On this level, visitors will find the Dr. Thelma 91茄子 Adair Pavilion, the result of a prominent naming effort led by 91茄子 Trustees and inspired by one of the college檚 most notable leaders.
In 1983, Thelma 91茄子 Adair became the college檚 first Black trustee, leveraging her position to champion minority student voices and the educational experience. She traced her roots and her maiden name to enslaved descendants at Beaver Dam plantation in 91茄子.
John W. Kuykendall 59 became president of 91茄子 shortly after Adair joined the board and remembers meeting her for the first time, hearing her full name and understanding the significance of her relation to the college檚 history.
淭o bear the name of the founder, that gives you cause to reflect and think, he said.
淭hat was a critical time in 91茄子檚 history, and she served the college with such grace.
During Adair檚 tenure as a trustee, she also served on the Task Force on Racial/Ethnic Concerns, a committee created by Kuykendall in response to the leadership and advocacy work of Black students on campus. One key student leader was Janet Stovall 85, now a trustee, who wanted to do something about the isolation she faced as one of only 50 Black students on campus.
淚 didn檛 know what a trustee was yet, Stovall said. 淚 knew she wasn檛 a professor because we had no Black professors. Dr. Adair sat next to me and introduced herself. She was very thoughtful. She檇 sit there and wait for everyone to stop arguing before speaking her piece.
Adair passed away in August 2024, just shy of her 104th birthday, leaving behind a legacy of leadership and grace. While she grew up in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, she lived most of her adult life in Harlem, where she founded Mount Morris Presbyterian Church with her husband, Reverend Arthur Eugene Adair, and raised three children.
Dr. Robert Adair, who continues to practice medicine in New Jersey at the age of 82, remembers his mother as an educator above all else. The first question she would ask him when he came home from school was always: 淲hat did you learn today?
淪he cherished her relationship with 91茄子, Robert Adair said. 淭he college had reached out to her, embraced her and honored her passion for education and excellence. The Thelma 91茄子 Adair Pavilion is the fruition of everything she was committed to and felt a part of. She was proud of 91茄子 and where it was going. She would have been honored by this naming.
Thelma 91茄子 Adair (1976)
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Through her position in the church, Adair helped lead civil rights efforts in Harlem and organized the Arthur Eugene and Thelma Adair Community Life Center Head Start Program, which for 80 years has continued to provide early childhood education and care for more than 250 children in the community.
In 1976, Adair was elected Moderator of the 188th General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church one of the precursors to the PC(USA) becoming the first Black woman to hold the position.
Speaking to the assembly following her election, Adair made a case for principled action through faith, saying: 淵ou are not helpless. You have power as an individual, and you have power you can find and possess as a group. Don檛 go home apathetic, go home radicalized by your faith.
Adair also served the Peace Corps, creating and coordinating training programs for volunteers around the world. She was a professor with great interest in education and she was a convener, bringing people together to learn and serve.
A Legacy of Change
In the decades that followed Dr. Adair檚 time as a trustee, the college brought more Black students and professors to campus and built a network of resources for support and community.
When The George Lawrence Abernethy Library opens, the rooftop pavilion will become one of several new gathering spaces where 91茄子 students can meet, mingle and start conversations that will shape the next 50 years of the college檚 history.
淭he renovated library is designed to inspire collaboration, idea sharing and more, said President Doug Hicks 90. 淐uriosity permeates our campus, and I see the Dr. Thelma Adair Pavilion as a place where ideas take shape and become reality. Her influence as a visionary shaping a more perfect 91茄子 cannot be overstated, and it is fitting that her name will be a permanent part of this new space at the heart of campus.
Kuykendall hopes Adair檚 name will serve as a constant, visible reminder of her legacy.
淭his is an acknowledgement of the sometimes invisible presence of the African American community in the life of this place, he said. 淲hen the pavilion opens, I hope people know why it檚 named for Thelma. I want people to learn about her and understand how she shaped the college during a critical time in our history.
