Penn State School of Labor and Employment Relations

For more than 80 years, 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. The School of LER is an academic unit within the College of the Liberal Arts at Penn State University Park. From its beginnings as an extension program with a small, part-time staff of adult education specialists, the program has grown to an internationally recognized academic department. The department has more than 3,500 alumni working in a range of capacities for national and multinational corporations, small businesses, labor unions, government agencies, and non-profits. People are the greatest asset to any organization — whether it’s a small business or a multinational corporation, or anything in between. Penn State’s School of Labor and Employment Relations (LER) studies the myriad aspects of the employer/employee relationship, including human resources, labor management, and employee relations. These are complex issues with many stakeholders. We are committed to understanding national and global issues and engaging multiple points of view from employers, employees, unions, and government.