Nellie Craig Walker

Nellie Craig Walker (1881–1969) was a school teacher and business owner, and was the first African-American student to graduate from Miami University.[1]

Nellie Craig Walker
Nelle Craig in 1905
Born	Nellie Craig 1881 Oxford, Ohio
Died	1969
Monuments	Nellie Craig Walker Hall, Miami University
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Miami University
Occupation(s)	school teacher, business owner
Employer	Oxford Public Schools
Known for	first Black graduate of Miami University
Spouse	James Walker

Walker was born Nellie Craig in Oxford, Ohio in 1881, the daughter of Jessie Craig and Susan Ross Craig, and the youngest of four children.[1][2] She attended the Ohio State Normal School (which later became part of Miami University), and graduated in 1905, one of a class of twenty women enrolled in the teacher's program.[1] She was a student-teacher in the racially mixed classroom in the Oxford Public School system.[3][2] She was the first Black student to graduate from Miami University, and taught in Indiana after graduating.[1]

Nellie Craig was married to James Walker in 1911, and the two moved to Cleveland.[1] They had four children. James Walker ran a tire company in Cleveland; when he died after 16 years of marriage, Nellie took over management of the business.[4] She died in 1969.[1]

Miami University renamed the former Campus Avenue Building as Nellie Craig Walker Hall in her honor in 2020.[3][1]