CFA’s Third President, Ann Shadwick, Has Passed Away

Virginia Ann Greer Shadwick, a lifelong advocate for labor rights, education, and faculty librarians, passed peacefully in her sleep on February 7, 2025.

Shadwick’s career was deeply rooted in public higher education and union activism. She was hired as a research librarian at San Francisco State University in 1968, and was steadfast in the struggle to secure faculty status for CSU librarians. After her retirement, Shadwick maintained her commitment to education by serving on the Friends of the Library Board and the San Francisco State Retirement Association Board.

Shadwick played a pivotal role in shaping the future of faculty rights. She was a key member of CFA’s first bargaining team after the faculty unionized in 1983, and she developed strong proposals that helped secure librarian faculty status. She later served as CFA’s third president from 1985 to 1989, before serving as president of the National Council for Higher Education in the National Education Association from 1989 to 1995 and the Higher Education Director of the California Teachers Association Board from 1995 to 2004.

In 2014, Shadwick documented the decades-long fight for librarian faculty status in her paper, “A Brief Summary of the Struggle for Faculty Status for Librarians in the California State University System, 1950s-1991.”

For her unwavering commitment to faculty librarians, she was recognized with the Mary Hatwood Futrell Award for her efforts in achieving librarian parity. She was also honored with the Human Rights Award in her name by the Student California Teachers Association. This award is presented each spring to a local California Teachers Association Aspiring Educators (CTA-AE) chapter or member that has made a significant accomplishment in furthering human rights issues.

“Ann was a loyal, passionate, and dedicated member of CFA,”

– Theresa Montaño, CFA Northridge member and CSU Northridge professor.

In memory of the passing of her daughter, Shadwick established the Laila Uthman Scholarship at Oceana High School in Pacifica, California, which supports students who have overcome academic and personal hardships or have shown a commitment to helping others.

“Ann was a brilliant, constant source of advice, inspiration – and fun – for me,” said Patrick Nichelson, who succeeded Shadwick as CFA president. “She also was a tough and brilliant bargainer!  Her contributions over the years to noble causes were remarkable. She was so generous, so honest, and a great model. She also held herself together, and eventually thrived, through terrible personal loss. Like other colleagues, friends and comrades of Ann, I regret her loss terribly. But also, I am thankful for the gifts she brought to me and the entire CSU community. For Ann’s family and close friends, my sincere sympathy.  It’s an awful, sad loss.”

Beyond her professional life, Shadwick had a strong passion for travel, having visited every continent. She also loved bird watching. She passed away shortly after her travel through the Panama Canal.

“Ann was a loyal, passionate, and dedicated member of CFA,” said Theresa Montaño, CFA Northridge member and CSU Northridge professor. “She remained steadfast in her commitment to quality, equitable, and affordable higher education. She was respected in both the K-12 and higher ed communities. She was a mentor teaching many of us the ins and outs of public education unions at a statewide, national, and international level. She will be missed. Ann Shadwick, presente!”

Charles Toombs, CFA President, said, “I was fortunate to have a couple of interactions with Ann Shadwick a few years ago, when we needed her knowledge and memory of our early history. Ann recalled so many details that none of us knew. During the fall 2024, Ann reached out to me about a number of files she wanted CFA to have for its archives. My last email correspondence with Ann was in November where she thanked CFA for making it so easy for her to send her materials to us. I will miss her directness and her gentleness. She did her work with love. Her legacy with CFA is profound.”