Building a Culture of Giving Back

The first time Barry Hartstein '73 flew into Ithaca 40 years ago, Ozark Air Lines lost his luggage.

The high school senior was relieved when the suitcase showed up in time for him to change into a suit for his ILR admission interview.

This weekend, Hartstein flies in from Chicago for the umpteenth time.

Instead of telling people why he wants to go to the ILR School, he’ll be celebrating with this year's graduates at an ILR Alumni Association-sponsored brunch he has helped coordinate for the past several years.

Hartstein steps down in June after serving as president of the alumni association for two years, but plans to stay actively involved with the school.

Hartstein talked about his tenure in an interview this week.

When he began as president, he said, "I thought that I was going to have to call in some chips. That hasn't been the way at all."

Instead, when he asked people to do things, they responded like Ruben King-Shaw, Jr., '83.

"He said 'sure'" when asked to lead a career roundtable discussion with students, Hartstein recalled. "Every board member also has stepped up to the plate when asked," according to Hartstein.

Much of Hartstein's energy as association president has gone to alumni-student events such as the annual roundtables, where alums talk frankly about their careers.

Other alumni-student events include the spring celebration in Ithaca honoring graduating seniors and graduate students and the June welcoming event in New York City for incoming freshmen and transfer students.

"It breaks the ice. It gives them a chance to get to know us … to talk heart to heart," he said.

"I want students to feel like alumni are approachable. So, if they want to pick up the phone and ask 'what do you think about this' internship or job offer, they can," Hartstein said.

Alumni availability to students "builds a culture of giving back" that will benefit future ILR generations, he said.

"That's part of what makes ILR so special," he said.

The network of professional support and friendship "doesn't end when you leave the ILR School," said Hartstein, a labor and employment attorney based in Chicago.

An example of that, Hartstein said, are his Morgan, Lewis & Bockius law firm partners, including ILR graduates Steve Wall '79, Joe Costello MILR '80, Mike Ossip '76, Drew Schaffran '76 and Steven Spencer '75.

Their support was instrumental in starting a winter internship program this year for ILR students at the firm’s New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., offices.

Hartstein has been an alumni association board member for more than 20 years. He is also on the boards of the ILR Dean's Advisory Council and the Scheinman Institute of Conflict Resolution.

"You make time for the things you want to do," Hartstein said, who also serves as managing partner for Morgan Lewis' Chicago office and Chicago practice leader for the labor and employment group.

Working on behalf of the school, he said, has allowed him to continue the alumni legacy he benefitted from as an undergraduate.

No-interest loans and financial aid financed by alums opened the ILR door for him, said Hartstein, from a family of six children, four of whom were in college at the same time.

"There were alumni who were there for me. That had a profound impact. Because of their generosity, I always wanted to give back."