About Us

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.

History of LER

1862
1940s
1942
1946
1950
1952
1958
1960s
1967
1970s
1973
1970s - 80s
1980s
1982
1980s
1990s
1990s
2000s
2002
2007
2010s
2011
2012
2020s
2020
2021
1862 - LER is an outgrowth of Penn State's Land Grant Mission

1862

The 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.
AFL CIO logo

1940s

In 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.
Men in attending labor classes

1942

In 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.
Old Main in 1946

1946

United 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.
Labor Education Program grows, degree is established

1950

In 1950, the program began offering credit classes at University Park and an undergraduate degree in Labor-Management Resources.
First class graduates!

1952

The first Labor-Management Resources majors graduate!
Program becomes the Department of Labor Education

1958

The program is granted departmental status and becomes the Department of Labor Education.
Program becomes department of labor studies

1960s

In 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.
Arlene Smith

1967

LER Hall of Famer: Arlene Smith Department Office Manager and Academic Adviser Student Confidant. Arlene worked for the Department for 39 years. 1967-2006.
Labor Educations goes Statewide, LS Grows

1970s

Major 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.
Doug Allen

1973

LER 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.
Map of Union Education Sites

1970s -1980s

Labor 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.
Program Broadens its Focus

1980s

The 1980s saw a significant increase in the number of majors.
ANNIVERSARY

1982

The program celebrates its 40th anniversary!
Department's name is changed to Labor and Industrial Relations (LSIR)

1980s

In the late 1980s, the department renamed its major to Labor Studies and Industrial Relations (LSIR).
Graduate Program and Alumni Group Established

1990s

HRER: 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: In 1996, LSIR became the first department in the college to establish an Affiliated Program Group to reconnect alumni with their undergraduate program.
Jackie Brova

1990s

LER Hall of Famer, Jackie Brova '73 Jackie was the Executive Vice President of Human Resources at Church and Dwight Co., Inc. She won the 2012 Service to Penn State Alumni Award and is a apart of the LER Alumni Group.
Labor Ed Program Defunded: HR Concentration Added; Online Program Begins!

2000s

The department continued to evolve and change during the 2000s.
Labor Ed Program is discontinued; Department has 6.5 Full Time Tenured Faculty

2002

In 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.
Department offers first online courses for MPS in HRER degree program

2007

In 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.
Department becomes School

2010s

The 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).

2011

LER Hall of Famer, Joseph Costello '78 Joseph Costello is a long-time member of APG, was awarded the LER Outstanding Alum Award in 2011, is an Attorney and Partner at Morgan Lewis and the Lead Gifter on the LER Endowed Professorship.
School becomes the School of Labor Employment Relations

2012

School reinstates Labor Education Program after 10 years of inactivity. School also establishes Center for Workplace Performance (formerly the Academy of Human Capital Development) to provide outreach services to the HR community.
School continues to success despite global pandemic

2020s

Despite 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.
Craig Pearce

2020

We welcomed our first Brova Family Endowed Professor of Leadership and Human Resources, Dr. Craig Pearce, in 2020.

2021

After 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,