Award recognizes migrant program for years of service to community

Karen Noble Hanson, left, the first director of the Cornell Migrant Program (CMP), presents the award inducting the CMP into the Rural Opportunities Inc. (ROI) Advocate Hall of Fame to Herb Engman, center, director of the CMP since 1977, as Stuart Mitchell, president and CEO of ROI, looks on. Engman accepted the award Oct. 18 at the Rochester Institute of Technology's Inn and Conference Center. Nicola Kountoupes /University Photography

By Nicola Kountoupes

Hundreds of people applauded Oct. 18 as the Cornell Migrant Workers Program (CMP) was inducted into the Rural Opportunities Inc. Advocate Hall of Fame. The presentation of this award marks the first time in the hall of fame's 35-year history that an organization has received the honor. The CMP was inducted (along with four individual award winners) at the banquet at the Rochester Institute of Technology's Inn and Conference Center in Henrietta, N.Y. Herb Engman, director of the CMP in 1977-2004, in accepting the award on behalf of the program, said: "Farm workers are gathering more and more support in New York state; they're starting to be able to advocate for their rights."

The Cornell Migrant Program, which is moving to Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is dedicated to improving the living and working conditions of farm workers and their families. As CMP settles into its new home, it is preparing to announce a national search for a new director and launch a new and promising phase in its efforts to support New York's farm community.

The awarding agency, Rural Opportunities Inc. (ROI), founded in 1969 in Geneseo, N.Y. (then called Program Funding Inc.), established the Advocate Hall of Fame in 1986. More than 70 individuals have since been inducted. Awards go to those who have made a difference working on behalf of people who are served through ROI programs -- people who typically face barriers to economic, educational, social and political resources.

Presenting the award was former ROI Director Karen Noble Hanson, who was CMP's first director in 1971. She credited Engman with taking the program from "Extension newborn to comprehensive program, raising a broad range of issues and helping to develop a series of solutions to many issues of the rural community."

For more information about the Cornell Migrant Workers Program, see the Web site at: http://www.farmworkers.cornell.edu/.