The North Carolina Association of Educators has posthumously recognized the late Agnes Chavis, inducting her into the association’s Educational Hall of Fame.

Chavis, a career educator and UNC Pembroke graduate, was lauded as a strong, dedicated advocate for the students of Robeson County. According to a statement from the association, she was an educator who inspired others and a champion of improved educational opportunities.

NCAE names educators and staff members posthumously to the Hall of Fame to recognize outstanding careers in public education or service to the association.

After graduating from Pembroke State College in 1944, Chavis spent 47 years as an educator. She began her teaching career as one of eight teachers in a small, impoverished school that served 324 poor and predominately tenant farmer children. She and her colleagues would solicit books, magazines and newspapers from the community and purchase school supplies with their own money.

A member of the Lumbee Tribe, Chavis was a strong advocate for Indian education on the national and local levels. She was a long-time member of NCAE, the Robeson County Association of Educators, NEA, and the Robeson County Retired School Personnel.