Rosen will be Honored on April 11
After boarding a Greyhound to visit Cornell during her junior year of high school, Diane Rosen ’78 knew that the ILR School would be a perfect fit.
“I loved the idea of a curriculum focused broadly across subjects like psychology, sociology and labor history,” said Diane, the recipient of the 2019 Alpern Award for service and support to ILR. The award will be made at the school’s Groat and Alpern Celebration on April 11 at The Pierre Hotel in NYC.
Diane entered ILR at 17 years old. She attended public high school in Fort Lee, N.J., where rigorous academics were not the norm. “Half of the kids in my school went to a four-year college, primarily state teachers’ colleges. Of those not on the college-bound track, the girls learned secretarial skills and the boys studied trades.” Diane’s parents, who went to city colleges in New York City, expected her to attend college, but were not actively involved in the admissions process.
When Diane arrived at Cornell in 1974, her father had recently passed away and she suddenly found herself having to arrange for student loans and on-campus part-time work. However, she made the most of the ILR experience, taking advantage of the ability to supplement her ILR education with classes in government and political science. As a junior, she studied at the London School of Economics, gaining an appreciation for life outside the United States. As graduation approached, she was torn between her desire to get a Ph.D. in organizational psychology and the practicality of a law degree. In the end, she chose law. Diane graduated from Georgetown Law in 1981 and was admitted to the New York bar in 1982.
Currently of counsel at Ortoli Rosenstadt LLP, Diane specializes in real estate and corporate transactions. She has expertise in U.S. copyright law and is a mediator and conflict coach with a specialty in custody and visitation. She also received her MBA from New York University and a master’s in applied positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.
Having begun her legal career at Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, she took time off to raise her children, Amanda ’12 and Oliver ’17. Diane is the author of “The Grownup’s Guide: Living with Kids in Manhattan,” and was the founding vice president of Girls Learn International, a non-profit organization that works to combat the global crisis in girls’ education.
Diane is interested in mid-20th century art, and collects WPA-era prints in thematic areas such as urban landscapes, social commentary and industrial images, as well as table-top pieces that showcase industrial design of the 1930s and 1940s.
Every month, she devotes hours to her alma mater and other organizations involved in issues that are of great personal importance to her, particularly those related to women’s rights in the workplace and beyond. From a Cornell perspective, she serves on the Cornell University Council, the ILR Dean’s Advisory Council, the advisory board of the Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution, the President’s Council of Cornell Women and the Cornell Council on Sexual Violence. She also serves on the board of Planned Parenthood NYC, and the advisory board of the Mt. Sinai Adolescent Health Center. She previously served on the board of trustees of the Trinity School in Manhattan, the New York French American Charter School and her local community board in Manhattan.
Said Alex Colvin, interim dean of the ILR School, “I have known Diane for many years and she truly gives all of herself to everything she does. There aren’t many people I know who are as generous with their time and talent. She has made an incredible impact on the world around her and we are lucky to call her an ILRie.”