George Peter (technician)
Encyclopedia
George Peter was an activist for employee rights at Cornell University
.
Peter was born in 1922 in Ithaca, New York
. His father was an Armenian immigrant, who had a farm near the town and also worked in a quarry which extracted the Llenroc stone used to build Myron Taylor Hall. Peter graduated from Ithaca High School in 1940 and then served in the Army Air Corps. After the war in 1947, Peter gave up a job which paid $4,400 for a Cornell Job that paid only $2,200 as an electriconics technician. In 1960, Peter moved to Arecibo, Puerto Rico
to help build the world's largest radio telescope. After two years, Peter returned to New York State to lead the Research and Development Laboratory of the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, and lived in Aurora, New York
. His work involved specialized, low-noise radio astronomy receiver and antenna systems.
In the aftermath of the black student takeover of Willard Straight Hall
, Cornell revamped its governance, including adding student and faculty representatives to its Board of Trustees and creating a student-faculty-employee University Senate. Peter won election to the first Senate in 1970 and immediately began lobbying to establish an employee trustee position. When the state legislature created that seat in 1975, Peter won election to that position and served a total of five terms as employee trustee. Peter also served as an employee representative on the Senate's Executive Committee and chaired other committees. He also served on the Trustee Executive Committee. He also started a page devoted to employee concerns in the Cornell Chronicle as well as other Cornell employee publications. Peter wrote a column called "Leadership Leads" and a collection of his columns was subsequently published as a book. Peter served as the employee representative on two Presidential search committees.
Outside his Cornell employment, Peter was the owner/operator of a local TV and appliance sales and service business from 1952–1960 and from 1962–1968.
Peter was active as a freemason and gained rapport with other trustees who were also masons. Peter served as Grand Master of two local lodges as well as Grand Historian for the Grand Lodge of the State of New York. He co-founded a series of leadership development courses for New York masons. After Peter retired from Cornell in 1988, Peter was active in the Cornell Retirees Association. Cornell elected Peter trustee emeritus in 1990. Peter then became active in the Morgan Opera House in Aurora, New York. He was one of the founders of the Cornell Recreation Club.
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
.
Peter was born in 1922 in Ithaca, New York
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
. His father was an Armenian immigrant, who had a farm near the town and also worked in a quarry which extracted the Llenroc stone used to build Myron Taylor Hall. Peter graduated from Ithaca High School in 1940 and then served in the Army Air Corps. After the war in 1947, Peter gave up a job which paid $4,400 for a Cornell Job that paid only $2,200 as an electriconics technician. In 1960, Peter moved to Arecibo, Puerto Rico
Arecibo, Puerto Rico
Arecibo is a municipality in the northern midwest coast of Puerto Rico and located by the Atlantic Ocean, north of Utuado and Ciales; east of Hatillo; and west of Barceloneta, and Florida. Arecibo is spread over 18 wards and Arecibo Pueblo...
to help build the world's largest radio telescope. After two years, Peter returned to New York State to lead the Research and Development Laboratory of the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, and lived in Aurora, New York
Aurora, Cayuga County, New York
Aurora is a village and college town in Cayuga County, in the Town of Ledyard, north of Ithaca, New York, United States. The village had a population of 720 at the 2000 census, of which more than 400 were college students....
. His work involved specialized, low-noise radio astronomy receiver and antenna systems.
In the aftermath of the black student takeover of Willard Straight Hall
Willard Straight Hall
Willard Straight Hall is the student union building on the central campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. It is located on Campus Road, adjacent to the Ho Plaza and the Gannett Health Center.-History:...
, Cornell revamped its governance, including adding student and faculty representatives to its Board of Trustees and creating a student-faculty-employee University Senate. Peter won election to the first Senate in 1970 and immediately began lobbying to establish an employee trustee position. When the state legislature created that seat in 1975, Peter won election to that position and served a total of five terms as employee trustee. Peter also served as an employee representative on the Senate's Executive Committee and chaired other committees. He also served on the Trustee Executive Committee. He also started a page devoted to employee concerns in the Cornell Chronicle as well as other Cornell employee publications. Peter wrote a column called "Leadership Leads" and a collection of his columns was subsequently published as a book. Peter served as the employee representative on two Presidential search committees.
Outside his Cornell employment, Peter was the owner/operator of a local TV and appliance sales and service business from 1952–1960 and from 1962–1968.
Peter was active as a freemason and gained rapport with other trustees who were also masons. Peter served as Grand Master of two local lodges as well as Grand Historian for the Grand Lodge of the State of New York. He co-founded a series of leadership development courses for New York masons. After Peter retired from Cornell in 1988, Peter was active in the Cornell Retirees Association. Cornell elected Peter trustee emeritus in 1990. Peter then became active in the Morgan Opera House in Aurora, New York. He was one of the founders of the Cornell Recreation Club.