Teaching the New Deal at ILR
Frances Perkins was invited to Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) in 1955 after receiving an invitation from ILR professor Maurice Neufeld. She lectured on labor union history, social security, and collective bargaining to large crowds of enthusiastic faculty and students. In 1957, she was formally invited to be a visiting lecture to co-teach ILR 650 on the New Deal Legacy with ILR Professor Alice Cook. She eventually moved into a residence at the all-male Telluride Association, acting as a mentor to the Cornell students.
ILR professor Neufeld wrote that “She moved throughout the University with presence, courtesy, attention, warmth, and kindness. Under the most trying circumstances, she remained in full mastery of clear thought, precise diction, elegant wit, less-than-innocent irony, good cheer, considered action, and especially, herself.”
Frances Perkins passed away May 14, 1965 at the age of eighty-five. She was buried next to her husband and near her parents and grandmother.
Frances Perkins passed away May 14, 1965 at the age of eighty-five. She was buried next to her husband and near her parents and grandmother.