Jay W. Waks '68, J.D. '71, will be honored by Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) with the Judge William B. Groat Alumni Award March 29 in New York City for demonstrated exceptional professional accomplishment in the field of industrial and labor relations and service to the ILR School.

Also to be honored at the event will be Paul Cole, secretary-treasurer emeritus of the New York State AFL-CIO, who has served as a Cornell trustee for 16 years. Cole will receive the annual Jerome Alpern Award, which is presented in recognition of extraordinary service and support to the ILR School by alumni whose professions are primarily outside the field of industrial and labor relations.

The Groat award, named for a New York State Supreme Court justice who was instrumental in the founding of the ILR School and in drafting its charter, is presented annually to an alumnus for exceptional service.

Waks has been an attorney with Kaye Scholer LLP in New York City for more than 34 years. He is a fellow of both the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and the American Bar Association Foundation. Waks has published numerous articles and been a featured speaker at bar meetings and other professional gatherings and is a member of the ILR Advisory Council and the first ILR alumnus to serve as chair of the Cornell University Council. In 2004, Waks and his wife, Harriet, established the Waks Family Fund for International Education and Research at the ILR School 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."

The Alpern award is named for Jerome Alpern '49, MBA '50, a business and financial consultant who was a lifelong champion of the ILR School.

During his service as a Cornell trustee, Cole represented the ILR School as a member of the Land Grant Committee. He has helped the ILR School secure funding from the New York State Legislature and is a constant advocate for the school's interests. Cole is a member of the ILR Advisory Council and is a past chair of this council. As one of his nominators 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."

For information about the awards reception, call (607) 254-7250.