As the preeminent educational institution in the world focused on work, employment and labor, the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) generates and shares knowledge that improves the lives of workers and transforms the future of work.
Our Students
Lord Lauds MS Degree Focus on Research
A strategic campaign planner and organizer with Strippers United, Meagan Stoney Lord M.S. ’25 has found that the ILR School’s MS degree program has given her the tools to conduct the community-focused research that will assist her in the union’s fight for a more just and equitable workspace.
Alex Herazy ’25 and Shruthisri (Sri) Ravisankar ’24 were honored with the 2025 State University of New York (SUNY) Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence.
Led by MS ILR students, the ILR School’s Graduate Labor Organization has expanded to include other Cornell students, particularly Ph.D. candidates studying sociology.
Jonathan Lam ’27 Honored by Amnesty International USA
ILR junior Jonathan Lam was recently named the inaugural recipient of the Trailblazer in Organizing and Activism Award given by Amnesty International USA.
Celine Chauviere’s paper “Rosie the Riveter’s Untold Story: African American Women’s Intersectional Struggle” earned her the 2024 Kheel Center Award for Undergraduate Research, which celebrates outstanding scholarship using the center’s archives.
Three doctoral students - Peter Polhill, Gokulnath Govindan and E. Ayaj Rana - have received Benjamin Miller Fellowship funding to support research activities.
ILR Event Focused on Developing Junior Work Law Scholars
As a hub for leading research and scholarship on labor and employment law, the ILR School hosted the Cornell Work Law Junior Scholar Workshop Nov. 7-9 in King-Shaw Hall.
Hard Work, Personal Stories Bring Speech Team Big Wins
Cornell Chronicle
The Cornell Speech Team, a registered student organization sponsored by the ILR School, had the most successful season in the team’s 40-year history this past spring.
Seniors Kwon, Mackey and Treadwell Named Merrill Scholars
Cornell Chronicle
Three ILRies are among the 42 Merrill Scholars selected based on outstanding scholastic achievement, evidence of leadership and their desire to positively affect the world beyond Cornell.
Grace Kwon ’24 and Margot Treadwell ’24 were among nine students and recent graduates representing Cornell’s four contract colleges selected to receive the 2024 State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence.
ILRie Chosen as Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Fellow
Cornell Chronicle
Margot Treadwell ’24 is one of two Cornell seniors selected as junior fellows of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and will spend next year conducting research with the organization in Washington, D.C.
A connection “around a shared motivation for social justice and the importance of the labor movement in achieving better outcomes” is shared by students in the cohort, Sleigh said.
For Eva Telesca ’25, studying abroad in Zambia over winter break was a transformative experience. Learning about Zambia’s political history and engaging in learning outside of the classroom setting provided options for a new form of academic rigor.
Master’s degree student persevered from prison to Ivy League
Cornell Chronicle
After serving two prison terms totaling more than four years, Thomas Jones, master's student in the ILR School, committed to turning his life around – through education and giving back.
The ILR School database that documents U.S. work stoppages informs journalists, policymakers, activists, scholars and the public about labor activism and unrest.
