Frances Benson, editorial director of ILR Press, an imprint of Cornell University Press, received a special award at the annual meeting of the Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA) in Denver this month. Benson was recognized for building a publications office for brochures into the ILR Press, widely recognized as the leading publisher of books on labor relations. In 1995, when ILR Press merged with Cornell University Press, she became editor-in-chief at Cornell.

John Ackerman, director of Cornell University Press, described Benson as "that rare person with the keen eye of a top editor and the business skills of a true publisher."

Harry Katz, the Kenneth F. Kahn Dean and Jack Sheinkman Professor of the ILR School, said Benson expanded the dimensions of the field of labor relations, publishing in such areas as women in the workplace, new union practices and the culture of health care before the importance of these areas was widely appreciated. "Fran is a jewel in the ILR School crown. She exerts a profound influence on the field, providing leadership and guidance to an enormous number of people, and she does so with remarkable grace," Katz said.

Katz and Eileen Appelbaum, president of LERA, presented Benson with a large album containing letters of appreciation from many of the nearly 400 scholars and practitioners whose books she has published.