Skip to main content
Christian Miller is presented with the University’s President’s Awards for Employee Excellence at the seventh annual Employee Recognition

ILR Librarian Wins President’s Award

Christian Miller, a lecturer in the Human Resource Studies Department and a research librarian in ILR’s Catherwood Library, was recently awarded one of the University’s President’s Awards for Employee Excellence at the seventh annual Employee Recognition Award Luncheon in Barton Hall.

Miller was one of three individuals to take home the Culture of Belonging Award for his monthly #randomcoffee events, which bring together library employees for 30-minute breaks, walks or lunches, encouraging inclusion and collaboration.

“I was on the Cornell Library’s Mentoring Committee and there were fewer people requesting long-term, traditional mentors, so we were searching for some alternatives that might be more informal or that would match peers rather than having a mentor and a mentee,” Miller said. “I am also interested in creativity and improvisation and as a result appreciate the importance of serendipity and spontaneity. So, I thought that incorporating those into our program might help us to get people talking that wouldn’t otherwise be likely to ever have a reason to talk.” 

Miller and the committee sent out their first call for participants in March of 2018 and received 20 registrations. 

“Since then, the program has grown through word-of-mouth, so that now there are right around 100 library staff that participate each month,” he said.

While the program is limited to library staff, Miller has worked with other departments – including Facilities & Campus Services, and Human Resources – and even other universities, to set up similar programs. 

“It really breaks down barriers between departments,” Miller said. 

In a recent assessment of the program, one participant noted, “I’ve worked at Cornell Library for almost 20 years and, because of the random coffees, I’m feeling included and connected like I never have before.” 

Weekly Inbox Updates