McLane Scholars, Two Decades of Service

By Larry Bashe

I suppose, when anyone talks about Brian McLane, they naturally focus on his lifetime of advocacy work on behalf of the disabled community.

I happened to be with Brian the night he received an honorary degree from Niagara University in recognition of that lifetime of advocacy.  And just so you’re aware of the level of honoree that evening, Brian found himself honored alongside Buffalo’s favorite son, the late, great Tim Russert of NBC’s Meet the Press.

Later, Brian would be inducted into what’s known as the Disabilities Hall of Fame, in Columbus, Ohio.

Later still, in 2010, I personally nominated Brian for the Arents Award, the highest honor bestowed upon a Syracuse University alum (short of, I suppose, naming a building after them or putting their on the Dome’s Ring of Honor). In fact, I’ve asked Brian to embed the video of the Arents ceremony below. Don’t miss it.  It is – and I do not use this word lightly – inspiring.

What’s never been fully recognized, however, has been Brian's more than 30 years in the public sector, and his countless public service accomplishments along the way.

It all began in the Town of Cicero, then a still largely underdeveloped township just north of Syracuse.  There, as a young college grad, Brian virtually created the town’s Parks and Rec Department, launched a community theater, and established other arts programs that targeted teens and other school age kids.

Brian’s time in Cicero was followed by a longtime role in the key position of chief of staff/personal aide to NY Assemblyman, Mel Zimmer, a classic old-school, roll-up-your-sleeves Democrat who, somehow, managed to win year after year in what is still a deeply Republican district.

Then came two high level positions with the New York State government; first as assistant commissioner of state parks and, later, that same role with state department of education.

Around that time, I began talking with the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University about ways to recognize Brian's long and fruitful career in public service.

Maxwell, by the way, was (and still is) ranked as the #1 public administration school in America and, in full disclosure, is a place from which I earned an MPA in 1968.

I’d subsequently served for years on the Maxwell board. During one of them, and after careful consideration, I decided to endow a fellowship in Brian's name. That was 2001.

Now, every year since ’01, a graduate student is chosen in Maxwell’s public admin program as a “McLane Scholar.”  My original vision was tweaked a few years later when, at the suggestion of Brian's good friend and former classmate, George Hicker, the program's focus was shifted to disabled students and/or those with a specific passion or focus on disability access in the public sector. Brian and I now meet annually with each young man or woman selected as a fellow.  What we don’t know, though, is what so many of these incredible young men and women so after they leave SU.

This year, though, I’ve been on a handful of Zoom calls with any number of different Maxwell grads. Norma Shannon, Maxwell’s development director, told me that on one particular call four people joining us that day were McLane scholars.  That got me to thinking and compelled me to ask for info about the post-graduate careers of every McLane scholar since Day One.  To say I was blown away would not do justice to all the things racing through my heart and mind as I sat there and read what Norma shared with me. The list was incredible, and I subsequently shared it with Brian.

Now, very rarely, as many of you will attest, does one find our friend Brian McLane speechless – but speechless he was that day, and rightfully so.

Brian’s dozens of scholars – the McLane scholars, mind you – now work at the highest levels of local, state, and federal government, and each, in their own way, brings to his or her position the very humanity, compassion, wisdom, and mental toughness we were seeking when we first selected them.

Many have, likewise, gone on to distinguished careers in the non-profit and corporate arenas.

Brian’s fellowship was funded, at least initially, with a personal gift from me.  But in the interim – and inspired, no doubt, by its namesake – many others have joined in the fight and now support it as a matter of course. More gifts, of course, will keep it going – and do so in Brian’s name.

But in the meantime, the Maxwell School’s legacy in public management and service remains secure.  And now, twenty years later, so is Brian McLane's.

His is, truly, both a legacy for the ages and one for which, as both fellow citizens and fellow members of the brotherhood of man, we all owe him our deepest thanks.

Merry Christmas, my friends!