George Peter revolutionized the status of Cornell employees and served as a tireless ambassador for the university. Throughout his 40-year career, Peter was an active member of the campus community. He led the effort to broaden Cornell employees' participation in shared governance, advocating for staff representation in university decision-making and creating opportunities for official recognition of employee achievements. 

Nominations are now open for the 2024 George Peter Award! Nominations will be accepted through Sunday, November 10, 2024. Deadline extended through November 13, 2024.

Note: previously declined nominations can be resubmitted, with updates as appropriate.

• Download the cover sheet
• Submit your nomination online

Overview

The George Peter Award for Dedicated Service is given annually by the Employee Assembly to staff who consistently demonstrate excellence in the performance of their duties, and who prove their willingness to extend themselves to help others and go above and beyond the normal expectations of their job responsibilities. 

The recipient(s) are announced at a celebration event hosted by the recipient's department or unit. This honor is the longest running and most prestigious university-wide peer-nominated award. Since its inception in 1980, the award has been bestowed on over 190 Cornell employees. (See Past Recipients)

Eligibility

1. All full-time Cornell staff members with five or more years of service are eligible for consideration for this award. 
2. Please note that each award has different eligibility criteria. If your nominee is not eligible for this particular award, we encourage you to explore other EA awards.
3. Nominations can be submitted by any Cornell employee (staff, faculty, or academic professional).
4. Nominees will be vetted with their college/unit HR representative to ensure they are in good standing. 

Selection Criteria

Nominees must demonstrate:

• Excellence in the performance of their assigned duties.
• Dedication to their job and workgroup that goes above and beyond expectations.
• Respect for the contributions of staff at all levels.
• Commitment to lifelong learning.
• Having a positive impact on the university.

Please review the scoring rubric for details and examples.

Nominations

This is a peer-nominated award. Nominations may be submitted by any Cornell employee (staff, faculty, or academic professional). Any staff member wishing to nominate a colleague should have direct experience with the nominee and must submit a completed nomination packet. The nomination packet is a single PDF document consisting of:

• Cover sheet
• Nomination letter explaining why the nominee deserves the award, citing relevant examples wherever possible. This can be co-signed by multiple staff members.
• Letter of support from nominee's direct supervisor
• One additional letter of support from other members of the Cornell community (staff, faculty, students, administrators, alumni).
  Please Note: Nominations and letters of support should be no more than 2 pages each. A limit on length allows for a manageable, equitable review process of each nomination. Each nomination is reviewed by committee members as part of the selection process.

Selection Process

1. The Office of Assemblies will compile all nomination submissions and share with the Staff Recognition and Awards Sub-Committee (SRAC) members who will use the approved rubric to grade each nominee and then submit the top three highest ranking nominees to the Chair of the Communications, Outreach & Recognition Committee (CORC).
2. University Human Resources will review the nominees in the same process as the Award for Staff Integrity and Inclusion and the President’s Awards for Excellence.
3. SRAC chair will share the top three candidates with the CORC Chair to share with CORC members prior to next CORC meeting.
4. The CORC will cast a final vote of the top three candidates at the next CORC meeting.
5. Once the final candidate has been vetted and approved by HR, the SRAC chair will notify the nominee’s supervisor.
6. After approval is received from the nominee’s supervisor, SRAC chair will notify the nominator and then the nominee of the award.
7. If desired by the nominee’s supervisor, the SRAC will coordinate and execute the recognition event with the nominee’s supervisor and VP Lovely’s office.

If you have any questions about the award and the process for nominations, please contact the chair of the Employee Assembly Communications, Outreach & Recognition Committee at employee-awards@cornell.edu or, for technical difficulties, contact the Office of the Assemblies at assembly@cornell.edu or (607) 255-3715.

Meet George Peter

October 21, 1921 - August 10, 2008

Just mention his name and you’ll get instant recognition; he’s a household word in the Cornell Community.

An Ithaca native, George Peter graduated from Ithaca High School in 1940, and within a couple of years was in the Army Air Corps, where he completed training courses and served as an instructor. He came to Cornell in 1947, as an electronics technician, and over the years took on increasingly more responsibility while auditing courses leading to the equivalent of a BS in electrical engineering.

When he retired, George was director of laboratory operations for the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center in the Department of Astronomy. One of George’s major work efforts was his on-site participation in the development and construction of the world’s largest radio/radar telescope at Aricebo, Puerto Rico, from 1960–62.

Upon his return to Ithaca in 1963, he established and directed a research and development laboratory for specialized, low-noise radio astronomy receiver and antenna systems. George also developed and taught courses in advanced electronics (for students including technicians, junior engineers, and grad students), wrote technical articles and training materials, and did guest lecturing. On the side, he was the owner/operator of a local TV and appliance sales and service business from 1952–1960 and from 1962–1968.

George was very active in Cornell University self-governance for an extended period. He served on the Cornell Senate Executive Committee from 1970–74, chaired the University as an Employer Committee (1975), and has served as the Employee-elected Trustee on the Cornell University Board of Trustees for a total of five terms since 1975. While a trustee, George received assignments on several trustee and community committees and commissions on the Executive Committee of the board from 1984–1996. He even had the distinction of being on two Cornell presidential search committees.

Back in 1980, George was a founder of and served on the editorial board of Cornell’s employee newspaper PawPrint (currently "Staff News"). Throughout, he contributed to the newspaper a bylined column known as “Leadership Leads.” His columns have been collected and recently published in a book of the same name. In fact, George was honored at a reception hosted by Cornell Vice President Mary Opperman and the Office of Human Resources to celebrate the completion of his book. Other Cornell accomplishments in which George took pride included his role in helping to start the Cornell Recreation Club (now Cornell Recreation Connection) and the annual Employee Day events.

On the civic scene, George had a long, continuing record of involvement and leadership in several areas of interest. An active Freemason on the local and state levels, he was Past Master of Ithaca’s Hobasco Lodge and the Scipio Lodge near his home in Aurora. Further, he held several offices in district and conference level Masonic organizations. He has been Grand Historian for the Grand Lodge of the State of New York since 1993 - a natural one might conclude, from his aptitude and desire for writing-“for recreation” he says. George has written a number of articles for Masonic publications, including reviews, leadership and training guides, historical accounts, and public relations materials.

George held several responsibilities in the First Baptist Church of Ithaca, organized and chaired the “Aurora Fest” celebration (1974–76), chaired the Aurora Village Planning Board, and served as a trustee of the Southern Cayuga Scholarship Foundation. One of his most rewarding accomplishments was the completion of the Morgan Opera House restoration project, a hands-on labor of love for a small, but dedicated, group of Aurora villagers.