About
Mission Statement:
The mission of the School of Labor and Employment Relations is to make organizations, workplaces and communities better by promoting excellence in teaching, research and outreach in the fields of human resource management, labor and employment relations and organizational leadership. The School is committed to achieving this mission by enhancing our understanding of these topics from a strategic perspective both domestically and globally. We are also committed to a multi-stakeholder perspective that includes workers, employees, employers, unions and government.
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1862The School of Labor and Employment Relations (LER) is an outgrowth of Penn State’s land grant mission. In 1862, Congress designated one university in each state as a land grant institution and charged that institution with serving the educational needs of all segments of society. Penn State was designated as the land grant university for Pennsylvania. |
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1940sIn the early 1940s, the Pennsylvania Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Pennsylvania Industrial Union Council (CIO) asked Penn State to conduct labor education programs in the Commonwealth. |
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1942In 1942, Penn State conducted its first labor education program for the Shipbuilders Union in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania union officials, citing the University's land grant mission, approached Penn State about conduction programs for union leaders and their activists to help them be more effective in their roles under the new =national labor-management system created by the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. Penn State's Land Grant Mission: |
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1946United Steelworkers of America In 1946, the United Steelworkers conducted their first Institute on campus. In August 2018, they returned to campus for the first time since 1998. |
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1950In 1950, the program began to offer credit classes at University Park and an undergraduate degree in |
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1952The first LMR majors graduated in 1952! |
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1958In 1958, the program is granted departmental status and becomes the Department of Labor Education. |
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1960sIn the 1960s, the program officially achieved status as an academic unit when it became the Department of Labor Studies affiliated with the College of the Liberal Arts. |
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1967LER Hall of Famer, Arlene Smith
Arlene worked in the department for 39 years; 1967-2006. |
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1970sMajor is renamed Labor Studies (LS) In the early 1970s, the name of the major was changed from LMR to Labor Studies (LS) and the department added research to its existing endeavors of offering degree programs and outreach services. |
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1973LER Hall of Famer, Doug Allen '73 Nittany Lion Academic All-American Penn State Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, President of the LER Alumni Program Group, and Professor of Practice. |
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1970s-1980sLabor Education Union Leadership Academic Sites The union Leadership Academy had been established years earlier but probably reached its most active level in the 70s and 80s with centers across the world. |
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1980sThe 1980s saw a significant increase in the number of majors. |
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1982The Program celebrates its 40th Anniversary! |
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1980sIn the late 1980s, the department renamed its major to Labor Studies and Industrial Relations (LSIR). |
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1990sThe 1990s saw several new developments. |
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1996HRER: The department added an Honors Program and established its first graduate degree program, a Master of Science (M.S.) in Industrial Relations and Human Resources (IRHR). As the name of the master's degree suggested, the department also began to offer a growing number of human resource management courses to meet the needs of majors going into that field. The name was later changed to HRER. Affiliated Program Group (APG) established: In 1996, LSIR became the first department in the college to establish an Affiliated Program Group to reconnect alumni with their undergraduate program. |
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1990sLER Hall of Famer, Jackie Brova '73
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2000sThe department continued to evolve and change during the 2000s. |
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2002In 2002, the University eliminated funding for the department’s labor education program. In recognition of the decline of basic industry and the rise of the service sector in the American economy, the name of the major and the department was changed to Labor and Employment Relations (LER) and the name of the M.S. degree became Human Resources and Employment Relations (HRER). The department also added a formal concentration in human resource management to the LER major. |
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2007In 2007, LER offered its first online course. In subsequent years, it began offering its B.A. and B.S. degrees in LER, MPS in HRER, and a new B.A. and B.S. degree in Organizational Leadership (OLEAD) completely online via Penn State’s World Campus. |
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2000sLER Hall of Famer, Amy Dietz '06
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2010sThe beginning of the 2010s saw the department growing rapidly. The number of LER majors at University Park increased and the online degree programs also saw steady growth in enrollments. The online BA/BS in labor and employment relations (LER) was added in 2010 and the online BA/BS in organizational leadership (OLEAD) was added in 2011.The department's growth in degree programs, research, and outreach was recognized in 2012 when the department was granted school status. The new status was recognition that the school's reputation had grown nationally and internationally, marking it as a peer of the top five labor, employment relations, and human resource studies programs in the United States (Cornell, Rutgers, Illinois, Michigan State, and Minnesota). |
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2011LER Hall of Famer, Joseph Costello '78
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2012
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2011-2013Research Centers: 2011: Center for Global Workers' Rights 2013: Center for International HR Studies In 2013, the department added its newest degree program, an M.P.S. in Labor and Global Workers' Rights. |
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2015-20162015: MPS in Labor and Global Workers' Rights 2016: Associate Degree in LER; Grad Certificate in International HRM |
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2017In 2017, the department established its first endowed faculty position: the LER Alumni Early Career Endowed Professorship. The School of Labor and Employment Relations completed 75 years of service to the University and to the Commonwealth. Today we celebrate those years of service and the growth of our program from a small outreach unit providing continuing education to unions to a nationally and internationally recognized program with world class faculty, ten separate degree programs (four in residence and six online), two research centers with global reputations and a comprehensive outreach program. |
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2018This decade also saw the school celebrating our 75th Anniversary. The year culminated in a celebratory gala at the Nittany Lion Inn to commemorate the accomplishments of the faculty, students, and alumni who have made workplaces better since the school's founding in 1942. |
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2018-2019School grows to 28 Full Time Faculty
And we celebrate the fact that in fifteen years, our faculty has increased significantly from 6.5 full-time faculty members in 2003-2004 to 28 full-time faculty in 2018-2019. |
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2020sDespite a global pandemic, the School of Labor and Employment Relations continued to offer a great education to all our students. The name of our major changed to Labor and Human Resources (LHR) to reflect our students' growing interest in human resource studies. |
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2020We welcomed our first Brova Family Endowed Professor of Leadership and Human Resources, Dr. Craig Pearce, in 2020. |
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2021After serving as the school's director for twenty years, Dr. Paul Clark stepped down and returned to focusing on teaching and research as a faculty member in 2021. Dr. Elaine Farndale, professor of human resource management, succeeded Dr. Clark as the school's director. |