Groat & Alpern Awards 2011
Two ILR graduates will receive the school's highest honors on March 31 at the annual Groat & Alpern Awards celebration in New York City.
Barry A. Hartstein '73 will receive the Groat Award and John J. Scelfo '79, MBA '80 will receive the Alpern Award.
The Groat Award is given annually to a graduate who has demonstrated exceptional professional accomplishment in the field of industrial and labor relations. It is named in honor of Judge William B. Groat (1899-1986), who played a key role in ILR's founding.
The Alpern Award, named in honor of business and financial consultant Jerome Alpern '49, MBA '50, is given periodically to an ILR graduate whose career accomplishments have been primarily outside the field of industrial and labor relations, or to a friend of the school.
Groat winner Hartstein, a shareholder in the firm Littler Mendelson, P.C., has earned a national reputation for his work. It includes more than 30 years of counseling and litigation in representing employers around the country in a broad range of employment law matters.
Hartstein has held leadership roles for many years in the American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law, including a prior role as co-chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Committee. He has an ongoing role as a liaison between the Chicago bar and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, facilitating communications between members of the bar and the EEOC.
Hartstein serves on the ILR Advisory Council, the ILR Alumni Association Executive Committee and the Scheinman Institute for Conflict Resolution Board of Directors.
A Cornell University Council member, he is former president of the school's alumni association.
Named in 2010 as one of the "top 100 Most Powerful Employment Attorneys" in Human Resource Executive and Lawdragon, Hartstein is a 1976 graduate of Northwestern University School of Law.
Alpern winner Scelfo is a senior vice president of finance and corporate development for Hess Corporation, a global, integrated energy company based in New York City.
As a member of the Hess Leadership Team, Scelfo has responsibility for the company's treasury, strategy, and exploration and production commercial activities.
Before joining Hess, Scelfo was executive vice president and chief financial officer for Sirius Satellite Radio. Prior to joining Sirius, he was vice president and chief financial officer for Dell Computer Asia.
Scelfo spent 20 years – including 13 years overseas – with Mobil Oil. Positions included chief financial officer of the Asia Pacific region, chief financial officer of Mobil's Japanese operations, vice president of Global Risk Management and corporate assistant treasurer.
He is a 1980 graduate of Cornell's Johnson School.
The awards celebration is from 6 to 9 p.m. March 31 at The Pierre in New York City.
Reservations, required and due by March 14, can be made by contacting Sue Sappington (ss446@cornell.edu) of ILR Alumni Affairs and Development.
Information about sponsoring an ad in the celebration booklet is available by contacting Joan Roberts (jmr21@cornell.edu) of ILR Communications and Marketing. The ad deadline is Feb. 22.