The School of Labor and Employment Relations has been a leader in human resources and labor relations since 1946.
The movement to establish a school for labor research and teaching was initiated by a resolution adopted in October 1942 at the 60th annual convention of the Illinois State Federation of Labor. An act of the state legislature in 1945 established the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and it began operating in 1946. A stand-alone building was erected in 1960 to house the then-institute and its faculty and classes.
Originally, both on-campus degree programs and extension programs were included. At first only a master’s degree was offered; a PhD program was added in 1966. Joint degree programs were added with the College of Law in 1976 and the College of Commerce (now College of Business) in 1998. In October 1997, the name of the degree changed to Master’s of Human Resources and Industrial Relations (MHRIR) to reflect the evolution of the field. In 2008, the name of the institute was changed to the School of Labor and Employment Relations to reflect its elevated status as a school on campus.
Historical Timeline
| Year | Milestone |
| 1945 | Reuben G. Soderstrom shepherds effort to create a “labor college” in Illinois; approval of University appropriations to establish the Institute of Labor Relations |
| 1946 | Albert J. Harno of the College of Law and University Provost, chair, in his final report to President Willard gave the Institute responsibility for fostering, establishing and correlating resident instruction, research and extension work on labor relations |
| 1946 | The Griffith committee recommended to the trustees that the Institute name should be changed from the Institute of Labor Relations to the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations to broaden the jurisdiction and meet constituent needs |
| 1946 | Phillips Bradley named first Director of the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations |
| 1946 | Institute opens in one large room on the fourth floor of Mumford Hall with five students in one graduate course taught by Professor William H. “Mac” McPherson |
| 1947 | Professional Librarian appointed to develop labor library collection |
| 1947 | Labor Education Extension formally established |
| 1947 | W. Ellison Chalmers follows Bradley as second Director of ILIR |
| 1949 | ILIR confers first three A.M. degrees to Peter B. Liveright, James W. Shanks, and Seymour Chalfin |
| 1949 | ILIR leveraged small budget thought joint efforts with other departments to have 20 courses, 45 students and 13 faculty; Moved from Mumford Hall to the second floor of a private building on Sixth Street after arranging appropriate renovations |
| 1949 | Eva Galambos becomes first female master’s graduate |
| 1950 | Melvin Humphrey becomes first African-American graduate |
| 1951 | Milton Derber named acting director of the Institute following Director Chalmers decision to step down after suffering a heart attack |
| 1952 | Robben W. Fleming named fourth director of the Institute; initiated a fund drive to construct a dedicated building |
| 1956 | Funds received from State of Illinois, Steelworkers of America, William Green Memorial Fund, and State Federation of Labor for the ILIR building with strong support of Reuben Soderstrom |
| 1962 | Martin Wagner named fifth director of the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations |
| 1962 | Kenji Okuda is the first international graduate of the program, hailing from Japan |
| 1962 | Beginning of management extension program; forming of ILIR Alumni program |
| 1962 | Institute moves into new building at Fifth and Armory |
| 1962 | Formal separation of labor education and management extension programs, establishing a labor education extension unit with Phillips Garman as director, and Earl Wolfe as director of management extension |
| 1963 | The Institute enters a five year exchange program of students and faculty with Keio University in Tokyo furthering Japanese-American understanding of labor relations: Director Wagner, and faculty members Solomon B. Levine and Bernard Karsh head the program which is funded in part by the Ford Foundation |
| 1965 | Opening of the Chicago Labor Education Program to provide courses, conferences and other educational services for Chicago-area trade unionists |
| 1966 | PhD program established |
| 1968 | Melvin Rothbaum named Institute’s sixth director |
| 1970 | First Doctorate degree awarded to John Niland, an Australian |
| 1971 | Richard Mannweiler named head of Management Education Program after Earl Wolf’s retirement |
| 1973 | First donation made to ILIR by Alan D. Ferrell, AM 92, in the amount of $5 |
| 1976 | Ronald J. Peters named head of Labor Education Program |
| 1976 | ILIR offers Joint JD/AM program with College of Law; Joyce Ingram is the first graduate in 1981 |
| 1981 | Walt Franke named Institute’s seventh director |
| 1982 | ILIR creates Alumni Annual Giving Program, consistently one of the most successful annual giving programs on campus |
| 1984 | Arnold Weber A.M. ‘51, President Emeritus of Northwestern University, receives the first Distinguished Alumni Award |
| 1986 | Corporate Fellowship Program (now Corporate Scholarship Program) begins, providing funding for numerous students based on academic merit and accomplishment; first gift made by General Mills Foundation in the amount of $2500 |
| 1987 | Chicago Federation of Labor AFL-CIO establishes Brabec Fellowship |
| 1987 | Women comprise more than 50% of the enrollment for first time in program history |
| 1990 | Inaugural Milton Derber Lecture |
| 1991 | Center for Human Resource Management (CHRM) founded to match corporate interests with faculty research skills |
| 1991 | School surpasses 1,000 graduates |
| 1993 | Multicultural Student Association formed to meet needs of growing number of minority students enrolled at ILIR |
| 1993 | ILIR sends major delegation to conference held in conjunction with Japan Institute of Labor; faculty and staff also visit Hong Kong and Taiwan |
| 1994 | Peter Feuille named Institute’s eighth director |
| 1994 | An endowed fund in honor of Hachiro ‘Buddy’ Koyama is established to “open the doors of opportunity” for international and internationally-involved students |
| 1996 | ILIR and Japan Institute of Labor jointly host conference in Chicago |
| 1997 | ILIR 50th Anniversary Celebration |
| 1997 | ILIR changes the master’s degree from A.M., Labor and Industrial Relations to Master of Human Resources and Industrial Relations (MHRIR); first degrees awarded in 1999 |
| 1998 | The Martin Wagner Education Center dedicated during fall alumni weekend; Previous classroom/lounge was remodeled, enlarged and updated for the first-ever building enhancement |
| 1998 | ILIR Faculty Teaching Excellence Award introduced; Professor Wally Hendricks first awardee |
| 1998 | Joint MBA program started conditionally Fall 1998 and became official program in Fall 2001; Lisa Linke received first MBA/MHRIR in December 1999 and last two degrees were conferred in December 2021 |
| 1999 | Family fellowship program is established to support student education; Alumni Wayne Anderson, Lee Loichle, and Alan May make significant contributions to establish endowed fellowships |
| 1999 | The Industrial Relations Research Association organization moved headquarters to the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (now LERA) |
| 2000 | Craig Olson named first ILIR Alumni Professor |
| 2002 | Emma Jean Mahoney, ILIR’s longest-serving employee, is honored for 43 years of service by campus and ILIR at her retirement |
| 2002 | Ron Peters retires as Head of Labor Education Program; Ed Hertenstein (Champaign) and Bob Bruno (Chicago) fill the position |
| 2004 | 100% of December class placed in jobs before graduation |
| 2005 | ILIR hosts Alumni Professorship Symposium |
| 2005 | ILIR hosts HR Games |
| 2006 | ILIR hosts a 60th anniversary celebration |
| 2006 | School surpasses 2,000 graduates |
| 2006 | Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld named Institute’s ninth director |
| 2007 | The international student population composes one quarter of students |
| 2007 | Professor Bob Bruno named Head of Labor Education Program |
| 2008 | Renovations are completed to make six professional recruiting suites and an administrative area named the Walt Franke Suite, replacing the former library space as library services shift to digital formats; project made possible through gifts totaling $200,000 from alumni, friends and corporations |
| 2008 | Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations officially becomes School of Labor and Employment Relations; director positions become dean titles |
| 2009 | Labor Education Program introduces distance learning courses as part of new undergraduate curriculum in Global Labor Studies |
| 2009 | LER hosts a memorial service for Archie Green, LER librarian from 1960-72 and founder of the Campus Folksong Club who lobbied Congress to establish the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress |
| 2010 | The former second-floor administrative suite is converted to a faculty office suite, funded by Director Emeritus Peter Feuille and his wife, Susan |
| 2012 | Professor Joseph Martocchio is named Interim Dean of the School; he is the school’s 10th dean/director |
| 2013 | Professor Fritz Drasgow is named Interim Dean of the School; permanently appointed to the position in 2014 and is the School’s 11th dean/director |
| 2013 | Renovations are completed for the basement corridors and the first floor corridors/offices, upgrading the general building space for the first time |
| 2014 | Peter B. Liveright, AM 1949 and oldest living graduate of the School, delivers the May Convocation address |
| 2014 | Building renovations continue with complete upgrades to all second floor corridors and offices |
| 2015 | LER delivers the first online degree classes to the inaugural cohort of students |
| 2015 | LEP adds the Project for Middle Class Renewal to investigate the working conditions in today’s economy and elevate public discourse on issues affecting workers |
| 2015 | Minority Students Association changes their name to Multicultural Students Association to reflect and include the growing number of international students in the program |
| 2016 | School surpasses 3,000 graduates |
| 2018 | Immediately following May commencement ceremonies, ground is broken on a $6 million renovation and addition to the LER building, the first addition to the physical space since the building was constructed; two new classrooms and an outdoor gathering space are among amenities |
| 2019 | Building grand opening for the addition is held in September 2019, featuring the Chancellor, Provost, and key donors |
| 2020 | All classes and activities for the School are moved to completely remote formats due to the COVID-19 pandemic; 20-21 school year is conducted in a hybrid format, with most student contact happening virtually and full in-person instruction resumes in fall 2021 |
| 2022 | Ryan Lamare is named first Reuben G. Soderstrom International Labor Relations Professor |
| 2022 | Reuben Soderstrom is awarded the Chancellor’s Medallion by Chancellor Robert Jones; it is the highest honor awarded by campus and this is the first posthumous award |
| 2022 | Professor Ingrid Fulmer is named the first female Dean of the School, becoming the 12th dean/director |
| 2022 | LER 75th + 1 Anniversary celebrated one year late, due to pandemic restrictions |
| 2023 | School surpasses 4,000 graduates |
| 2024 | Professor Simon Restubog is named Interim Dean designate, becoming the 13th dean/director |
