Cornue, Virginia, 1945-

Virginia Cornue (1945-) is a scholar and social activist who was involved in a number of feminist organizations in the 1970s and 1980s. She was highly active in the National Organization for Women-New York City, serving as the education director from 1978 to 1981 and the executive director of the NOW-NYC Service Fund from 1981 to 1983. She was also the co-founder and executive director of the Women's Funding Coalition-NYC from 1981 to 1986 and the executive director of Newark Emergency Services for Families from 1986 to 1989. Through her work Cornue developed community education programs, which covered topics related to women's issues, including Title IX, the Equal Rights Amendment, sexism, employment opportunities, and women's health. She was also involved in a number of fundraising activities and community-based organizing initiatives that served multi-racial and multi-ethnic families. In 1989 she received the Newark (NJ) Humanitarian Service Award, and in 1998 she was awarded the Susan B. Anthony Award for Service and Advocacy for Women. Cornue received a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Dramatic Arts from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and pursued graduate studies at the New School for Social Research. In 2001, she earned a PhD in Cultural Anthropology from Rutgers University for her work in social change, gender, and women’s organizations in 1990s urban China. She has also taught women's studies and cultural anthropology at a number of institutions including Montclair State University, Rutgers University, and Bloomfield University in Bloomfield, New Jersey.