Welcome to our 2023 Annual Review - Labor and Employment Relations

Home / Welcome to our 2023 Annual Review

Dean’s Welcome

It’s hard to believe we’re already several months into my second year here at LER—time has really flown! Thank you for welcoming me into the LER family and making this my new home.

It’s been exciting to be out on the road, meeting alumni around the country, and welcoming those who visit for recruiting and campus visits. Seeing where you work and hosting alumni and friends of the School who stop by to see the changes in the building is the best part of my job.

We’ve made good on our promise for big plans in 2023. Our Climate Jobs Institute is off and running, working on making hires and beginning essential research on the labor market impacts of decarbonization. Our online program is developing exciting new certificate offerings to serve new audiences and meet the needs of working professionals. Our traditional master’s program continues to be a place where students can grow and develop into future workplace leaders. We’re developing a new optional concentration that, once approved, will allow future students to develop expertise in HR analytics.

We will continue to evolve and develop in 2024, and I hope you enjoy reading about our successes so far. As always, your support makes everything we do possible. Thank you!

Named Professorships

Named professorships are awarded to distinguished faculty who excel in research, teaching, and service.

Milestones

Faculty Promotion

The School is pleased to celebrate the promotion of an outstanding faculty member, Russell Weinstein, to Associate Professor.

Regina V. Polk Women’s Labor Leadership Program

The Regina V. Polk Women’s Labor Leadership Programs are a series of women’s leadership development programs for working women. They were established to honor Teamsters Local 743 organizer Regina V. Polk.

By The Numbers

Illinois Climate Jobs Institute

The Illinois Climate Jobs Institute (CJI) was established in 2022 by the Illinois legislature to conduct applied and academic research that contributes to the state’s clean energy transition and the broader academic study of economic and labor market impacts of decarbonization.

Support

Scholarships are one of our greatest recruitment tools to attract the brightest minds to the School of Labor and Employment Relations. Over the past few years, the generosity of our alumni, donors, and corporate partners have significantly increased our scholarship awards, while reducing the financial burden of our students.

Students On The Move

The School is fortunate to have dedicated partners and alumni who help our students experience pieces of the “real world” prior to graduation. We resumed our travels post-COVID with a two-day trip to multiple employers in the St. Louis area in January, and then made two more day trips to see both manufacturing and corporate facilities later in the year.

Listen and LERn:
The LER Podcast

New this year, thanks to the efforts of CJ Capalar, MHRIR 23, we have an LER podcast. Please follow us and hear from our students and faculty about life at the School.

More episodes available here on Spotify.

Donor Spotlight

Walsh Family Scholarship

“We owe everything to the School – our careers, our closest friends, and our family. We met there, we built our network, and we started the amazing jobs that led us to our current success.”

— Dr. Michael (MHRIR 05) and Christine Walsh (MHRIR 06), donors of the Walsh Family Scholarship