ILR News Center

Honorees praise the inspiration of family and the ILR School

This year's ILR School Groat & Alpern Award winners all had something to say about the inspiration and influence of family in shaping their personal and professional lives. One of the winners, Ruben King-Shaw Jr. '83 also wanted to say thanks to another important person he met many years ago.

"I don't remember his name, but he told me 'you're not good enough for Cornell' and he told me to lower my ambitions. To him, I want to say, 'how do you like me now?'" said King-Shaw, Chairman and CEO, Mansa Equity Partners, Inc. and the 2008 winner of the Jerome Alpern Award.

Jerome Alpern, for whom the Alpern award is named, presented the award to King-Shaw. He said that to "have the Alpern name forever linked to the King-Shaw name through this award is so gratifying to me and my family." King-Shaw said that many people made the award possible, recognizing his parents and grandparents and acknowledging the impact of A. Philip Randolph, a prominent 20th century civil rights leader.

The ILR School bestows the Groat & Alpern Awards each year to honor distinguished alumni and friends for their professional contributions and service to the School. The awards are named for the Honorable Judge William B. Groat, who played a pivotal role in founding the ILR School and drafting its charter; and Jerome Alpern, B.S. '49, MBA '50, a businessman, financial consultant and prominent ILR School supporter. The Groat Award is presented each year to an ILR alumnus; the Alpern Award recipient can be an alumnus or friend of the School.

This year's event held March 27 at the Grand Hyatt New York, New York City was attended by close to 500 ILR alumni and friends. ILR recognized two alumni with 2008 Groat Awards: Mark Brossman '75, Partner, Schulte Roth & Zabel; and Robert Molofsky '72, Vice President, AFL-CIO Investment Trust Corporation.

When introducing Brossman, ILR alumnus Paul Salvatore '81, a former Groat Award winner, said Brossman is a "true-blue ILRie" and his role in bringing management and labor interests together is "quintessential ILR."

Brossman thanked his parents in accepting the award – his father, who set the example for having respect for working men and women; and his mother, from whom he learned to give back. Brossman said he continues to support the ILR School because "I owe everything to ILR."

Molofsky was welcomed to the stage by ILR alumna Nancy Hoffman '66. Hoffman commented on Molofsky's unrelenting commitment to ILR and praised him as a major factor in the success of the ILR credit intern program in Washington, D.C.

In accepting the award, Molofsky talked about the early influence of his father and two uncles, who have a passion for workers' rights, civil rights and human rights, and the courses and people at ILR who inspired him. "The Groat Award is a high point honoring my commitment to the ILR School and my sense of purpose relating to the labor movement."

To read more about the Groat/Alpern awards and interviews with this year's winners, go to the ILR News Center.