Jean Trepp McKelvey

Jean Trepp McKelvey (February 9, 1908 – January 5, 1998) was an American economist specialising in arbitration and industrial relations. McKelvey was an esteemed tenure professor at Sarah Lawrence College (1932–1945) and Cornell University (1946–1976) where at the latter she was a founding faculty member for the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR School), developing the curriculum and teaching five courses including arbitration, labor law and labor practices. Coined the "mother of arbitration", in 1947 McKelvey was the first woman admitted to the National Academy of Arbitrators, in 1970 became its first woman president and established an arbitration training program for women and minorities. In addition to her successful published research career, McKelvey served on the New York State Board of Mediation (1955–1966) and Federal Services Impasses Panel (1979–1990) and received numerous accolades including the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service's Special Award for Distinguished Service in Labor Management Relations (1973) and Arbitrator of the Year Award from the American Arbitration Association (1983).