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Ethel Percy Andrus (September 21, 1884 – July 13, 1967) was a long-time educator and the first female high school principal in California. She was also an elder rights activist and the founder of AARP in 1958.
Learn how the extraordinary AARP founder, Ethel Percy Andrus, changed aging in America forever through her passion for education and service.
As we reflect on the remarkable story of AARP founder Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, we realize that she was many things to many people: a teacher, a patriot, a mentor, a leader, a visionary, a trendsetter, a disruptor, an advocate, an innovator and a voice for older adults struggling to get by.
Nurtured by progressive parents, Ethel Percy Andrus finds her calling. Founder’s Purpose Begins at Chicken Coop. Andrus meets a retired teacher living in poverty, vows to make a difference. A California Teachers Association Goes National. AARP emerges as Andrus’ ideas take flight. Older Americans Act Validates Andrus' Vision.
Dr. Andrus was determined to develop an affordable group health insurance policy for retired teachers, and was turned down by 42 companies before she found one willing to take a chance.
Experts say that aging is the most significant demographic trend of our time. Ethel Percy Andrus was truly ahead of her time in focusing on the challenges, and more important, the opportunities to individuals and to society of the bonus of the longer, healthier lives that we now are fortunate to experience in America.
Ethel Andrus. The image of retirement as the end of a productive, contributory life has been considerably altered by the efforts of Ethel Andrus (1884-1967), founder of the National Retired Teachers Association (NRTA) and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).
