Four staff members in the Department of Global Development retired in 2021 after decades of dedicated careers in service to Cornell students, faculty and projects centered on wellbeing and inclusion, environmental sustainability, and food and nutritional security.
Cally Arthur, Sue Barry, Diane Munn and Denise Percey each retired in fall 2021. Collectively, they provided over a century of service to the Cornell community.
“Our talented staff members are crucial to the success of our dynamic department,” said Lori Leonard, professor and chair of Global Development.
“Cally, Diane, Denise and Sue are emblematic of the dedicated professional staff that keep the department and our projects thriving.”
Cally Arthur
Cally, who retires Dec. 31, joined Cornell in 1995 to provide editorial expertise to the Cornell International Institute for Food Agriculture and Development (CIIFAD), where she edited, designed and produced publications. In 2009 she joined International Programs at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (IP-CALS) as a core team member of the unit’s Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI). For the BGRI she managed activities within the Durable Rust Resistance in Wheat and Delivering Genetic Gain in Wheat projects, which together received more than $100 million in funding to advance a more prosperous and wheat-secure world.
“Cally is one of the most incredible employees I have ever worked with,” said Ronnie Coffman, professor of global development and director of IP-CALS. “She was essential in the preparation of high-quality proposals that allowed us to generate more than $200 million in funding for various projects. In addition, she kept us all compliant with the demanding reporting requirements of large donors.”
Coffman lauded Cally for her ability to get things done — and to do it with a joy that inspires others. Along with her efforts tied to the wheat projects, she launched Best Bets, an events newsletter that reaches more than a 1,000 people each week, and generated and stewarded countless grant proposals. She received a CALS Core Value Staff Award in 2014 for adaptability, and earned an honorary Jeanie Borlaug Laube Women in Tritium (WIT) Mentor Award in 2021 for extraordinary service to the global wheat community.
Sue Barry
Sue has had a long and productive career with various units across Cornell. In 2009 she joined the former Department of Development Sociology as the events and program coordinator where she organized seminars and provided academic support for faculty. In 2017 she transitioned into a part-time role with the Community Learning and Service Partnership (CLASP) program in the Department of Global Development. At CLASP she coordinated administrative functions, including travel, finances, course support, communications and more.
“Sue is one of the most capable, compassionate, kind and pleasant people to work with,” said Annalisa Raymer, senior lecturer in global development and director of CLASP. “Whether supporting Cornell student-employee mutual Learning Partnerships, designing a variety of materials or assisting in the field, Sue’s knack for networking and good thinking always elevates the quality of any endeavor she touches.”
Diane Munn
Diane first joined Cornell at CIIFAD in the 1990s to manage international travel and support the action-oriented research of faculty across the university and nearly 300 graduate students. She transitioned into a role supporting the International Agriculture and Rural Development (IARD) major, where she served as undergraduate program coordinator for hundreds of IARD students and administrative assistant for faculty advisors. She was also a key staff member supporting the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship program, a Fulbright exchange fellowship providing mid-career professionals with an international enrichment opportunity in leadership and public service.
“To say that Diane was was much loved by the IARD students is an understatement,” said Terry Tucker, professor of the practice and co-director of the Global Development Master of Professional Studies (MPS) program. “Day in and day out, Diane brought a warmth and humanity to her work that was not lost on any of her students or colleagues.”
Denise Percey
Denise dedicated more than 32 years in support of numerous international programs at CALS. During her tenure she provided administrative support for CIIFAD, IP-CALS, the Department of Global Development and MPS programs dedicated to international agriculture. She provided key administrative support for the IARD 4020/6020 course, the university’s longest running international experiential learning course. According to Coffman, who served as Director of IP-CALS for the past 20 years, Denise was the key facilitator for a program that reached its apex of activity with her support.
“Denise spent every day thinking about how she could help the rest of us,” Coffman said, “and we are all sincerely grateful to her. Every time we need a visa, or something else essential, we will think about how easy it used to be when Denise was around. We will truly miss her.”
For more than 10 years Denise served as the graduate field assistant for the IARD/MPS program while providing assistance for the directors and programs/projects for IP-CALS.
“Denise did everything humanly possible to help faculty complete our tasks in a quality fashion, meet deadlines and stay out of all manner of trouble — and she did it with much more patience than any of us deserve,” said Terry Tucker.
“Denise’s impact has been truly amazing,” said KV Raman, research professor in global development, who relied on Denise to help shepherd numerous collaborative programs with India, especially the Cornell Sathguru Executive Education (AMP) program.