Kevin Stearns/University Photography

When a car accident cut his football career short, Coty Franklin, a senior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, directed his energy and drive toward academic success and community service.

ITHACA, N.Y. -- "Football is my passion," says Coty Franklin, who is graduating from the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR). In high school in DeSoto, a suburb of Dallas, he played linebacker and defensive end on a team so good that two of his former teammates were drafted to play for the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots.

But in 2002 Franklin was permanently sidelined when his car was hit by an 18-wheeler tractor trailer. A transfer student, he was on his way from Texas to football camp at Cornell when the accident happened. His neck was dislocated, but a medical team popped it back into place and dosed him with painkillers, and he continued his journey so he could be on campus for the start of school. The worst part was the directive from the doctors -- no contact sports, ever. "It was tough. The football season was beginning, and I couldn't be there," says Franklin, who still suffers pain and whose ability to exercise remains limited because of his injuries.

Still, he kept on going, learning the ropes on campus, applying himself to his studies and becoming interested in what some would consider a different kind of contact sport -- labor arbitration, negotiation and mediation.

"My dad is a union steward and negotiator at his plant in Dallas," Franklin says, "so I've always been familiar with labor issues and intrigued by labor, but I wanted to see what I could do to affect labor relations from a different viewpoint." Initially aiming to be a labor lawyer, he took the course Mediation, Negotiation and Alternative Dispute Resolution with Professor David Lipsky, and two other influential courses, Collective Bargaining with Professor Harry Katz and Arbitration with Professor James Gross. "That turned my focus from being an advocate [for labor] to being an adjudicator [between labor and management]," says Franklin, who now sees arbitration as more cost-efficient and effective than other means of workplace conflict resolution.

Then, during a summer internship at PPG Industries, a global production company based in Lake Charles, La., "For the first time I sat across the table from the union and they blew up at me," he recalls. "Initially I was shocked, offended -- but I was able to see their point of view, go home and think about it and come up with a solution everyone would be happy with. A happy ending is not always possible, but it's worth the effort."

He has since accepted a permanent job as a labor relations manager with PPG's chemicals business unit and will represent management in contract negotiations with 1,500 aerospace, sheet metal and other workers this coming year. "I'm excited but nervous about the opportunity," he says. Two very different positions he aspires to, long range, are director of labor relations for the firm's North American businesses or a labor arbitrator -- "but first I need to get experience under my belt, and my current job will satisfy both goals."

What does his father, a "union diehard," think of Franklin's interests? "We bump heads sometimes, but it's always interesting table talk between my dad and me."

Off campus, Franklin is a member of the service fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha, which originated at Cornell a century ago as the first intercollegiate Greek letter fraternity for black students. Recently he and other members have been involved with IthaKids, which teaches computing, story writing and Web-search skills to third- through fifth-graders at Ithaca's Southside Community Center.

He also is vice president of the Minority ILR Student Organization (MILRSO), which organized what he calls "the most successful [campus fashion] show ever" this spring. Featuring clothing by innovative New York City designers worn with flair by top Cornell models, the gala cost $22,000 to put on. Paid for by ticket sales and sponsors, it attracted 1,200 people to Barton Hall during Cornell's diversity hosting weekend for prospective students.

"I have big visions of what I can do to affect MILRSO as a graduate," Franklin says. "We have outstanding alumni. I want to do a better job of connecting them with ILR students."

Although Franklin's football career was cut short, it's clear from his achievements, and his aspirations that he has redirected his drive and determination to become a leader academically and in the community.