Evelyn Bing '12, who received the Clete Daniel Memorial Medal April 29 at the ILR School, was tense when she interviewed for the Semester in Dublin Program.

Bing quickly relaxed as she met last year with Daniel, professor of labor history, director of ILR Off-Campus Credit Programs and founder of the ILR/University College Dublin program.

"His explanation of the program was peppered with jokes and laughter, and he assured me that my qualifications were adequate, as long as I was willing to work hard," said Bing, who spent the fall 2010 semester in Ireland.

A member of the ILR faculty for 37 years, Daniel was 66 when he died in 2010. He had won several university and ILR School teaching awards. His books include "Bitter Harvest: A History of California Farmworkers 1870-1941," which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

The medal celebrates Daniel's work to establish and develop the program, and his academic and personal achievements, said Brigid Beachler, managing director of Off-Campus Credit Programs. "The connecting thread found in all of Clete's research was his exploration of the ideas of power and powerlessness and of efforts to reconstruct American society 'at long last along the lines of the nation's professed democratic ideals,'" Beachler said.

Former students, Beachler said, "would invariably comment during return visits to campus that his class was their favorite -- and their lowest grade." She continued, "Clete firmly believed in the transformative power of education, which he experienced in his own life, and made a conscious effort to make his lectures academically enriching, but also entertaining and memorable."

Bing said her semester in Dublin "was more than just an opportunity to study in a new environment; it was an opportunity to travel the world. ... I was able to meet people from different countries and listen to different viewpoints. Studying abroad has improved my understanding of the world in ways that a textbook never could.

"He was unquestionably an extraordinary person, and his passing was a great loss to the Cornell community. I accept this medal with extreme gratitude for the opportunity that he gave me."

The coin-shaped sterling silver medallion will be awarded annually by the School of Business, University College Dublin, to the outstanding student in the semester-long program it sponsors with ILR. Bing was recognized for her high grade-point average. The program began in 2007 and enrolls about a dozen ILR students every fall semester. ILR's Off-Campus Credit Programs will also make a $250 cash award each year.

Mary Catt is assistant director of communications at the ILR School.