[Excerpt] In 1961, George joined the faculty of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) at Cornell and Sara was appointed to a position in the School's extension division. George hadn't done much college-level teaching when he joined the ILR School faculty. He quickly established himself as one of the School's most popular and influential instructors. George was certainly an engaging and entertaining lecturer, but it was not only his platform skills that made him so popular with students. Cornell students — especially those who were part of the 1960s generation — were drawn to George's unorthodox views on unions and labor relations. George challenged the conventional wisdom on unionism and bargaining and many students inclined to regard established authority with skepticism identified with this classroom maverick. Students who thought other ILR faculty members relied too heavily on pie-in-the-sky textbook knowledge, liked George's ready reliance on twenty-five years of experience in the trenches of government and union service to support his unique opinions.