Campus & Beyond Pioneering Labor Reformer Honored, in Words and in Bronze Stories You May Like Cornellians-in-Chief? A Roundup of Big Red Presidential Hopefuls For Mark Tatum ’91, the NBA Is his Dream Team What’s the Most Iconic Cornell Tradition? Vote in the Final! Frances Perkins, a visiting prof in the mid-1900s, was remembered with an alumni event and the unveiling of a statue By Beth Saulnier When Frances Perkins became U.S. Secretary of Labor under FDR in 1933, American women had held the right to vote for a mere 13 years. The nation’s first female cabinet member, Perkins was a barrier-breaker who enjoyed a long and impressive career—one that included serving as a visiting lecturer in the ILR School from 1957 until her death in 1965. Perkins’s time on the Hill was notable enough to merit a mention in the second volume of the University’s official history; it observes, among other details, that she “never went hatless and frequently wore white gloves and pearls while lecturing.” In mid-August—fittingly, with Labor Day just two weeks away—alumni who knew and learned from Perkins all those decades ago gathered on campus for an oral history event. Donald BazleyAlumni reminisce at Telluride House. That same day, a life-size statue of her was dedicated in downtown Ithaca. (A brief video from the ceremony, as well as from the dedication of a statue by the same artist honoring longtime Cornell employee and Ithaca resident Lucy Brown, can be found here.) Located at the corner of North Cayuga and Seneca streets, it depicts Perkins sitting on a bench, holding a pen and paper, and turning as if in mid-conversation with a seatmate. The remembrance event, which was captured on video for posterity, took the form of a panel discussion at Telluride House—where Perkins, its first female resident, lived for the last five years of her life. Her relationship to the residence was so close, in fact, that house members served as pallbearers at her funeral. Perkins's relationship to Telluride was so close that house members served as pallbearers at her funeral. Stories You May Like Cornellians-in-Chief? A Roundup of Big Red Presidential Hopefuls For Mark Tatum ’91, the NBA Is his Dream Team The alums, who’d lived in Telluride at the same time as Perkins, shared a wide variety of memories. They ranged from the charming—the fact that Perkins would host an annual lobster dinner, complete with Champagne, as a thank-you gift to students—to the tragic: her zeal for promoting the interests of organized labor stemmed, in part, from having personally witnessed NYC’s 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, in which 146 garment workers lost their lives due to unsafe conditions. Mary CattThe bronze statue, by sculptor Meredith Bergmann. Among the notable alumni anecdotes: Perkins’s deft snub of infamous Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa—then under federal investigation for alleged corruption and collaboration with the Mafia, and later to vanish after a presumed mob hit—who’d come to Telluride for a reception after delivering a lecture on campus. “Miss Perkins refused to come down for the reception, until his staff insisted,” recalled Chris Breiseth, PhD ’64, who is board chairman emeritus of a nonprofit dedicated to preserving her legacy. “She was already in bed.” Miss Perkins refused to come down for the [Jimmy Hoffa] reception, until his staff insisted. She was already in bed. Chris Breiseth, PhD ’64 Finally, a student was sent to knock on Perkins’s door to tell her that Hoffa insisted upon meeting her. She acquiesced—“Let it never be said that a former Secretary of Labor refused to meet a major labor leader,” she declared—put her hat on, went down to greet him, and exchanged a few brief words. “With that,” Breiseth recalls, “she pivoted and went back to bed, before a photo could be taken of the two of them together.” Top: Perkins teaching at ILR (Rare and Manuscript Collections). Published August 22, 2024 Comments guy cohen, Class of 1966 27 Aug, 2024 In 1964,1965,1966, as a junior/senior at Cornell, I had a work scholarship and was assigned to be an assistant to Francis Perkins, the first female, USA president cabinet member- Secretary of Labor. She was a true educator who put the students first and foremost. She constantly looked to assist me in my education choices even though I was suppose to be working for/with her! The 2 years that I assisted Prof. Perkins was an amazing experience! Professor Francis Perkins was a real inspiration to me! Reply Peter Nussbaum, Class of 1963 27 Aug, 2024 My father was an American history professor. After attending a reception at ILR after my graduation ceremony, he told me he had just had a fascinating conversation with a woman who knew more about the New Deal era than he did. I then informed him that he’d been speaking to Francis Perkins. Reply Sue (Pozefsky) Tepperberg, Class of 1963 14 Sep, 2024 Sue (Pozefsky) Tepperberg Class of 1963 As a newly accepted student to ILR, I had difficulty adequately explaining the program to my father. But when I mentioned that Frances Perkins was on the faculty, he was delighted and never again had doubts about the curriculum! Reply Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. 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