Jay W. Waks '68, J.D. '71
Judge William B. Groat Award
Jay W. Waks '68, J.D. '71, has been an attorney with Kaye Scholer LLP in New York City for more than 34 years. His success as a lawyer is well-known; he is a Fellow of both the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and the American Bar Association Foundation. Jay has published numerous articles and been a featured speaker at bar meetings and other professional gatherings. Jay is a member of the ILR Advisory Council and the first ILR alumnus to serve as Chair of the Cornell University Council. In 2004, Jay and his wife, Harriet, established The Waks Family Fund for International Education and Research at the ILR School. This fund is intended to "enhance ILR's visibility in the international arena and expand its collective understanding of the globalization of work as a critical path towards worldwide economic and human development." Their daughter Allison is currently an undergraduate in ILR.
Paul Cole
Jerome Alpern Award
Paul Cole, Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus of the New York State AFL-CIO, served as a Cornell Trustee for 16 years. During those 16 years, Paul represented the interest of the ILR School as a member of the Land Grant Committee. He has assisted the School with obtaining funding from the New York State Legislature and constantly promotes the School as the premier institution of its kind. Paul is a member of the ILR Advisory Council and is a past chair of this council. As one of his nominator's notes, "Paul truly believes in the mission of the ILR School and has done everything in his role as an officer of the New York State Labor Federation to promote the ILR School and its activities."