News Digest Archive
Highlights from ILR - May 2008
Larry Kahn, professor in the Department of Labor Economics and in the Department of Collective Bargaining, has been elected a fellow of the Society of Labor Economists. The honor has been received by only 59 labor economists from universities and research institutes around the world. Fellows are elected by the society based on their "contributions of unusual distinction to the field." The first fellows were named in 2003. Kahn joins his ILR Labor Economics Department colleagues John Abowd, Fran Blau and Ron Ehrenberg as fellows of the society. As of May 2008, the only institutions that match or exceed the Cornell ILR School Labor Economics Department's total of four fellows in the society are: Stanford University (7), University of Chicago (6), University of Michigan (6), and Harvard University (4). Founded in 1996, the Society of Labor Economists promotes the study of labor economics and strives to make more significant the contribution of labor economics and labor economists.
David G. Epstein, a 1994 graduate of ILR and a member of the Catherwood Library Advisory Council, received the Professional of the Year Award from the New York Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. Epstein was honored by the association in May in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. He is director of human resources at the Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center in New York City. The association makes the annual award to an individual for contributions to the elderly or chronically ill in the community in which he or she works.
Fifteen ILR seniors graduated with honors May 25. They were: Michael Bolos, Charlotte Davis, Javeste Dulcio, Matthew Escovar, Aaron Feinberg, Jane Forman, Aaron Gingrande, Marcelo Han, Lee Leviter, Nate Lowry, Katelyn McClellan, Stephanie Pompelia, Gerard Ruoti III, Michael Snyder and Christopher Yannuzzi.
Two ILR students are among Cornell's 2008 Merrill Presidential Scholars. Scholars are graduating Cornell seniors who have demonstrated outstanding scholastic achievement, strong leadership ability and the potential for contributing to society. The scholars, in turn, recognize a high school teacher who most inspired their scholastic development and a Cornell faculty member who most significantly contributed to their college experience. Kerry Motelson of Cross River, N.Y., named Richard Clinchy of John Jay High School and Kevin Hallock, ILR professor of Human Resources. Griffin Oleynick of Drexel Hill, Pa., named William Skowronski of Monsignor Bommer High School and Flaminia Cervesi, Romance languages lecturer.
John Hausknecht and Pam Tolbert were honored at ILR's McPherson Honors and Awards banquet this spring. Hausknecht, assistant professor of Human Resource Studies, received the MacIntyre Award for Exemplary Teaching. Tolbert, professor of Organizational Behavior, received the Robert N. Stern Mentoring Award.
Kevin Harris was named this spring to receive the Outstanding Advisor Award given annually by the Cornell University Student Activities Office. Members of the ILR student organizations Harris advises nominated him for the university-wide award. Harris is associate director of advising and counseling in the ILR School Office of Student Services.
The Society for Human Resource Management has awarded $165,000 to the ILR School to study retention of older workers in the United States. Samuel Bacharach and Peter Bamberger are co-investigators of "Retirement eligible but not retiring: A longitudinal study of the organizational and job-related factors associated with the retention of older workers." The new retirement study is an outgrowth of many years of related research by the Smithers Institute. Bacharach is ILR's McKelvey-Grant professor and is also director of ILR's Institute for Workplace Studies and of the Smithers Institute. Bamberger, a graduate of ILR's doctoral, graduate and undergraduate programs, is a visiting scholar at the Smithers Institute.
The research of ILR faculty members Fran Blau and Larry Kahn is used by the Congressional Budget Office to help estimate the impact of tax changes on federal budget deficits. Changes in tax rates can affect labor force participation and work hours; in order to determine the effect of a change in tax rates on federal tax revenues, the induced changes in labor supply (if there are any) must be taken into account. The budget office uses research by Blau and Kahn as reported in a paper they entitled "Changes in the Labor Supply Behavior of Married Women: 1980-2000." The paper was published in Journal of Labor Economics in 2007.
ILR International Programs and the ESCP-EAP European School of Management have received a $235,000 grant from the French-American Cultural Exchange Foundation. The grant will support the dual-degree program sponsored by ILR and the Paris-based school, faculty and PhD exchanges, course development, and joint seminars. Sixty-eight university pairs applied for the three-year grant program. Sixteen were funded. The application was made by ILR International Programs Director Robin Remick and Professor Beatrice Collin of the European School of Management. The dual-degree program includes six ESCP-EAP and three ILR students this year.
Vernon Briggs testified at a public hearing of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission in April in Washington, D.C., on "Illegal Immigration: the Impact on Wages and Employment of Black Americans." Briggs is an ILR professor emeritus.
Barbara Viniar takes office as Chesapeake College's fifth president July 1. She will be the first woman president in the regional community college's 43-year history. Viniar currently serves as executive director for the Institute for Community College Development at Cornell University. The institute is located in the ILR School.
