ITHACA, N.Y. -- Linda Donahue has been appointed director of the Great Lakes district for the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) Division of Extension. In her new position, she oversees the ILR school's workplace training and education programs and faculty efforts in the greater western New York area, including training and professional development workshops, college credit courses, research, economic development and technical assistance.

The Great Lakes district serves private- and public-sector employers and unions, nonprofits, government agencies, trade and professional associations and community groups. Outreach is one of Cornell's founding principles as part of its land-grant mission.

Last June ILR extension's Buffalo and Rochester districts merged into one Great Lakes district, retaining an office in each city, to broaden its scope and ability to deliver programs. Donahue was appointed interim director before being named to the permanent position this fall. She was senior extension associate/director of labor programs for the new district from October 2002 until June 2003. Before that, she had been senior extension associate/director of labor and special programs with ILR extension's Rochester district since 1996 and extension associate/director of special programs in Rochester since 1991.

"Linda Donahue has 12 years of broad professional experience with ILR extension in western New York," said ILR Dean Edward Lawler. "Her knowledge of the region, her relationships with Cornell clients and her deep commitment to the school's mission and values make her the ideal choice for this new position."

A former aide to New York Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-28th Dist.), Donahue co-produced a video in 2002 about Rochester's labor history. She has published scholarly research in the Industrial and Labor Relations Review. A graduate of St. John Fisher College with a major in psychology, she is completing a graduate degree in social policy studies at Empire State College.