This is our first newsletter in some time. The reason--we have had so much going on that we have not had a moment to put one together! But over the last few months we decided to make getting a newsletter out a top priority. We have a lot of good news to report about our program, our students, and our faculty, so please take a few minutes and find out what we have been up to.

Perhaps the biggest news is that last year Penn State’s Board of Trustees voted to elevate our program from a Depart- ment to a School! We are now the School of Labor and Em- ployment Relations. This is a relatively rare occurrence at a university like ours and is a pretty big deal for us. The promo- tion to School status is a reflection of the progress our pro- gram has made in the last five to ten years. During this time our full-time faculty has grown from 8 to 22 and our part-time faculty has increased from less than 10 to more than 60. Since 2008, LER has built one of the largest and best online pro-

grams at Penn State. Today we offer six undergraduate and graduate degrees in residence at University Park and six fully online degrees (undergraduate and graduate) through PSU’s

World Campus. And the total number ofstudents enrolled in our World Campus and University Park degree programs exceeds 2,000.

In Spring 2013, just prior to our eleva- tion to a School, we celebrated our 70th Anniversary. To commemorate this mile- stone we organized an Anniversary Dinner and Professional Development Symposium

that was attended by over two hundred alumni, students, facul- ty, and staff. It was a great way to end the program’s first sev- enty years as a Department and kick off the next seventy years as a School!

(continued on page 5)

--From Jackie Brova and Rex Simpson, LER Alumni Board Co-Presidents

The Affiliated Programs Group (a.k.a. the Alumni Board) is made up of 34 alums who support the School throughout the year. The full Board meets on campus twice a year; in the fall (Nov. 14th) and in the spring (usually April), but members are also available during the yearto speak to classes, work with our student groups, discuss pro- gram development with Dr. Clark and other faculty members, and to help students through a variety of projects and programs.

The fall Board meeting is tra- ditionally centered around a Thursday night talk by our Out- standing Alum honoree (this year

helped raise nearly $1 million. More than 175 LER studentshave received over $400,000 in scholarships and grants. In addition to scholarships, our fund raising has been instrumen- tal in supporting students studying abroad, in paying for the cost of students travelling to scholarly or professional confer- ences and competitions, and in helping to support student or- ganizations and activities. If you are able to help us, you can make sure your gift goes to help the program by noting on your check that your gift is for the “LER School”. A gift to the School is tax deductible and enables us to continue the tre- mendous growth and progress LER has made in recent years and maintain the student-centered culture that makes our School so unique and valued.

In addition to helping financially, please consider contrib- uting your time and expertise. The School can use your help! The Board is not a private club, but a diverse group of alums who care about Penn State, the LER School, and our

LER alum Adam Taliaferro) and the Saturday morning tailgate that

APG Board Member Amy Dietz and 2012 LER Grad Emily Pattyn.

students, and want to give back to the program. If you would be interested in helping the School and our LER students con-

has fast become an LER tradition. The spring program fea- tures our career counseling round tables for students. But the Board also sponsors a wide variety of other activities includ- ing student debates and programs; student and faculty visits to companies, law firms, labor unions and government agencies throughout the Northeast; and an annual football tailgate. The Board works directly with students on helpful developmental programs like job interviewing (a focus of the November meeting), business writing workshops, resume reviews, as well as participating in student/alumni mentoring.

The Board is also active in raising development funds forthe School. Since its creation in the 1990s, the Board has

tact co-chairs Rex Simpson at rcs30@psu.edu or Jackie Brova at jjbrova@ptd.net or stop by our fall meeting at the Nittany Lion Inn on November 14th. We look forward to hearing from you! We are!

INSI

DE

the effects of

Stan Gully joined the LER Faculty in Fall 2014 as a Professor of Human Resource Management. Stan earned his Ph.D. from Michigan State Uni- versity in Industrial/Organizational Psycholo- gy. His interests include leadership and team ef- fectiveness, individual differences and motivation, strategic staffing and recruitment, employee well-

ness. Stan has published numerous articles, chapters, and books on these topics and was inducted as a Fellow of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

Jean Phillips joined the LER Faculty in Fall 2014 as a Professor of Human Resource Manage- ment. Jean earned her Ph.D. from Michigan State University in Business Management and Organi- zational Behavior. Her interests focus on recruit- ment and staffing, motivation, and the processes that lead to employee retention, wellness, and per-

formance. She received the 2004 Cummings Scholar Award from the Organizational Behavior Division of the Academy of Management. She has published nine books, in addition to nu- merous articles and book chapters.

Niki Dickerson von Lockette joined the LER Faculty in Fall 2013 as a Professor of Labor and Employment Relations and Sociology. Niki re- ceived her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in Sociology. Her work examines the impact of residential segregation on unemployment and wag- es for blacks and Latinos in metropolitan areas and workplace occupational segregation on worker atti-

tudes. She has served as consultant for the U.S. Departments of Labor and Commerce and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Mary Bellman is a Lecturer of Labor and Em- ployment Relations as well as a labor educator. Mary holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of New Mexico where her research fo- cused on union organizing by women in Central America. Mary has many years of experience lead- ing programs for workers, most recently at the University of Minnesota's Labor Education Service

from 2008-2014. In addition to teaching resident instruction courses, Mary will be organizing, as well as teaching, education programs for Pennsylvania unions and workers.

Emily Morrison joined the LER Staff last spring. She comes to the School from Verizon Wireless in State College where she worked as a Customer Service Representative. Emily has taken on responsibility for course scheduling and in- structor onboarding and payroll. Her work also includes working with the School’s labor educa-

gram, including the new Labor Leadership Initiative. Emily has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Letters, Arts, and Sciences from Penn State University.

Elaine Farndale, formerly an Assistant Professor in the School of Labor and Em- ployment Relations, has been granted ten- ured and promoted to Associate Professor. Elaine is known globally for her work in the area of international and comparative human resources management.

Sarah Damaske, Assistant Professor of Labor and Employment Relations, and her co- author, received extensive press coverage for a study in the Journal of Science and Medi- cine. The study examined the levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, in a variety of work- ers throughout the day. The data showed that both men and women are significantly less

stressed at work than they are at home. Further, the women in the study said they were happier at work, while the men said they felt happier at home. The study discusses the im- plications the findings have for people trying to juggle the dual responsibilities of work and family. Sarah was featured in stories in dozens of top news outlets including Good Morning America, NPR, PBS News Hour, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Le Figaro, Time, and Forbes. For a synopsis of the study go to http:// www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/ wp/2014/05/22/are-you-more-stressed-at-home-than-at- work/.

Paul Clark, Professor and Director of the School of Labor and Employment Re- lations, was honored in April as the recipient of the 2014 President’s Award for Excel- lence in Academic Integra- tion. The prestigious, univer- sity-wide award is given to a full-time faculty member who has exhibited extraordi- nary achievement in the inte-

gration of teaching, research or creative accomplishment and service during their career at Penn State.

For the full story see: http://news.psu.edu/ story/308546/2014/03/20/clark-recognized-president%E2% 80%99s-award-academic-integration.

tion pro-

In August, the Center for Global Workers’ Rights andthe School of Labor and Employment Relations wel- comed the first group of students to the new masters’ pro- gram in Labor and Global Workers’ Rights. The degree provides an opportunity for mid-career union and govern- ment officials from around the world to study the impacts of globalization on workers and workers’ rights. The in- coming class includes students from Italy, Jamaica, Chi- na, and the U.S. The program is affiliated with the Global Labour University (GLU), which is composed of top uni- versities in Germany, India, South Africa, and Brazil. Penn State became the U.S. affiliate of the GLU last year. Professor Mark Anner heads the program.

The first class in the Labor and Global Workers’ Rights Master’s Program

Mark Schnurman has been named the 2014 recipient of the Kelley-Willits Award for Excellence in Online Teaching. This award is given each year to an instructor in the School’s Labor and Employment Relations/Human Resources and Employ- ment Relations Online Programs whodemonstrates exceptional teaching ability, concern for students, and commitment to the School’s mission of preparing practi- tioners for productive careers in the field of human resources and employment relations.

Schnurman is a veteran instructor who has taught courses both in the MPS in HRER program and the undergraduateonline program since 2009. Mark maintains full time employ- ment as the Chief Sales Officer for Eastern Consolidated, a large commercial real estate firm in northern New Jersey, while regularly teaching HRER 505—Seminar in Human Re- sources as well as LER 460 Human Resources Ethics.

Schnurman consistently receives excellent student evalua- tions. He is a demanding, but fair, instructor, who challenges the students in his classes. He is also an alumnus of the School who is a member of the Affiliated Programs Board. In addition to his teaching duties, he works tirelessly with students outside the classroom to help prepare them for employment by men- toring students on career development and assisting with re- sume preparation and interview practice. Mark Schnurman has always been willing to give back to Penn State and our stu- dents and is truly a worthy awardee of the Kelly-Willits Award.

Schnurman will receive his award at the APG semiannual meeting on campus, November 14th.

LER Continues To Be A Leader In Online Degree ProgramsHigher education continues to serve millions of students in

the traditional brick-and-mortar environment; however, the past decade has witnessed the extraordinary growth of online degree programs. LER first offered an online degree pro- gram—the Masters of Professional Studies (MPS) in Human Resource and Employment Relations (HRER)--in 2008. Since then the School, working with Penn State’s World Campus, has added a BA and a BS degree in Labor and Employment Relations (LER), a BA and BS degrees in Organizational Leadership (OLEAD), and an Integrated BS in LER/MS in HRER degree program.

Penn State’s approach to online education is different from many universities in that our online students do not earn an “online degree”. Rather, they earn the same degree as stu- dents at University Park or any other Penn State campus. The only difference is the way the coursework is delivered.

The LER School’s objective in developing online pro- grams is to provide a viable alternative for students, particu- larly adult learners, who require flexibility in the way they approach the learning process. For example, as a matter of

policy our classes are “asynchronous”. This means that, with minor exceptions, students can log on at times that are con- venient to them to complete required class assignments. Each week some of our students begin and end their involvement early, while others wait for the weekend to study and submit assignments, most of which are due Sunday night. The classes require an exceptional amount of work, including extensive writing.

In order to mentor students effectively, we have recruited over 50 online faculty members. Most of our online instruc- tors are leading professionals in their specialties--human re- source management, labor relations, or labor and employment law--who want to share their expertise and experience with our students. Students benefit not only from the course con- tent, but also by interacting with such an accomplished group of instructors.

Our program has grown rapidly in its first six years. For example our BA/BS programs have experienced a growth rate of 65 percent since 2011. We expect to see continued growth

(Continued on page 10)

Labor Education Program RevivedLER traces its roots back to 1942 when Penn State first held non-credit classes for workers at the Philadelphia shipyards. For the next sixty years, the program offered a range of courses to unions and union leaders across the state as part of its land grant mission to extend the resources of the Universi- ty to all segments of Pennsylvania society. The program was based on the idea that for union leaders to responsibly play their role in the post-New Deal system of labor-management relations they had to be informed and knowledgeable about that role. At the time of its founding the University already had established the Penn State Management Development Program to meet the needs of management practitioners in the Commonwealth.

In 2002, the University admin- istration, while expressing support for LER’s labor education mission, with- drew funding for the program. The Department’s faculty continued to be committed to the goal of an informed and knowledgeable labor movement, and in 2013 it secured the funds nec- essary to revive the program.

Renamed the Labor School at Penn State, the labor education pro- gram has committed to two initial initiatives. The first is a one-year course of study for local leaders and activists called the Union Leadership Academy (ULA). The ULA curricu- lum is made up of four non-credit courses focusing on labor’s history,the current state of the labor movement, the legal rights of workers, and the challenges unions face. The first ULA clas- ses were held in the Harrisburg area in 2013-2014 and 24 local activists completed the program. The program is being offered in Harrisburg again in 2014-2015. And there are ten- tative plans to offer the program in a few other locations in the next few years.

In 2014, the program undertook a second major initiative called the Labor Leadership Institute (LLI). The LLI is an intensive, hands-on program for full-time, emerging union leaders. It consists of two four-day, on-campus sessions at the beginning and end of the year and three two-day weekend sessions held in between. The sessions focus on advanced leadership and managerial skills, and address critical eco- nomic, political and social questions. Instructors include prominent union leaders, leading consultants, and top labor educators from Penn State and Cornell University’s faculty. There are twenty-one participants from ten different unions and one labor alliance member. The unions include the Steel- workers, the Communication Workers, IBEW, AFSCME, the Sheet Metal Workers, the Operating Engineers, the UFCW, SEIU, the Sheet Metal Workers, the Operating Engineers, the UFCW, SEIU, the Amalgamated Transit Workers, and

the Transport Workers Union. Jobs for Justice is the elev- enth participant.

The labor education effort is being led by LER faculty members Doug Allen, Mary Bellman and Paul Clark.

Management Professional Development OutreachDuring the 2013-14 academic year, the Academy of Hu-

man Capital Development, the LER School’s management outreach program, offered a number of professional devel- opment opportunities for alumni and the general HR com- munity. These programs included webinars, workshops and on-site HR management training. These learning opportuni- ties were approved by the Human Resource Certification

Institute (HRCI) and qualified as recertification credits toward the Professional in Human Resources (PHR), Senior Professional in Hu- man Resources (SPHR) and Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR). We are also happy to re- port that the LER School has been designated as a pre-approved provid- er of HRCI programs. Among the programs offered last year were:

• Leadership Development webi- nar;

• Developing Individual and or-ganizational resilience webinar;

• HR’s role in creating sustaina- ble competitive advantage work- shop;

• Managing People workshop;• The HR Practitioner of the 21st Century: Profile of a

Business Leader (This presentation was delivered at the SHRM® 2013 Strategy Conference held September 30 – October 2, 2013 in San Diego, California.)

In the coming year, the Academy plans to offer webinars, on-campus workshops and on-site workshops on:

• Conducting Serious Incident Investigations webinarand workshop;

• ADA Accommodations webinar;• Generations in the Workplace: Appreciating our Dif-

ferences webinar;• The HR Practitioner of the 21st Century: Profile of a

Business Leader webinar;• Counseling & Discipline workshop;• Managing People workshop.

The Academy is also working with employers in Pennsylva- nia, Connecticut and Texas, to design and deliver on-site programs. If you are interested in attending a webinar or on- campus workshop, or in having a program delivered on-site at your work location, please contact Dr. Tom C. Hogan, SPHR, GPHR at tch12@psu.edu.

Connect with LER Alums andStudents on Social Media

The LER School is active across most major social media. Stay connected with the LER community through Facebook and Twitter

https://twitter.com/ LERatPSU

https://www.face book.com/ PennState LSER

Join almost 2,000 alums onthe PSU LER Linkedin group

(continued from page 1)As much as some things change, others remain the same.

In that regard, our students continue to do wonderful things. All four of our student groups are very active. In recent years, the Society for Labor and Employment Relations (SLER) (some of you may remember it as the Labor Studies Club) has had its biggest membership in recent memory and a full slate of activities. The Penn State Chapter of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) also has been fully engaged. Last spring they won the northeast regional SHRM Case Competition (after finishing second the year before). They were awarded a BIG check for $2,500 that helped pay the team’s way to the National SHRM Conference in Orlando in June (see photo on page 9).

Penn State’s United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), also sponsored by LER, successfully lobbied the University’s administration to suspend Penn State’s contract with the ap- parel company Adidas. This was part of a successful national campaign to get the company to meet its responsibility to workers in Indonesia making college-branded apparel (more detail in another story in this newsletter). And LER students started a fourth group called Student Works at Penn State (SWAPS) that focuses on domestic labor issues. Last year they made a great mini-documentary on raising the minimum wage.

While preparing students to work domestically in the fields of labor, employment relations and human resources management (HRM) continues to be our main mission, we have also greatly increased our international focus and exper- tise. Over the last few years we have hired a number of facul- ty with strong backgrounds in both international HR and in- ternational labor. This has allowed us to increase the number of internationally-focused courses we offer and to create a new masters degree in labor and global workers’ rights and a new online graduate certificate in international HRM (under development).

Consistent with this focus, we now have more students studying abroad than ever. This is in large part because LER alumni have generously responded to our request for contri- butions to support LER majors going abroad. Not only are students studying in a wide variety of locations (Ireland, Spain, South Africa, China, Australia, Vietnam, and Canada), more and more of our students are doing internships in excit- ing places like London and Dubai. For many of our students the travel grants we are able to provide because of alumni donations makes an abroad experience possible.

We are also very excited about two new international re- search initiatives. Over the last few years we formally launched the Center for International HR Studies and the Center for Global Workers’ Rights. These are the first re- search centers in the history of our program. Each will con- duct research and develop programs to bring together scholars from around the world working in their respective areas and bring scholars and practitioners together to learn from one another. The Centers have already sponsored conferences that

have brought researchers from over 40 nations to campus.Lastly, in an effort to better serve the labor and manage-

ment communities, we have reinstated our Labor Education Program and launched the Academy of Human Resource De- velopment. These programs will allow us to reach out to prac- titioners through training seminars, webinars, and workshops. Articles in this newsletter provide more details on these oppor- tunities. If you are looking for training opportunities, why not look into what we have to offer.

In sum, in the past few years our program has continued the positive momentum we have built over the last decade. We are now viewed as one of the top five labor/employment relations/ human resources programs in the country and our online de- gree programs are ranked number one. Our international visi- bility and reputation have also grown in recent years. The pro- gress we have made is a result of the hard work and commit- ment of all members of the PSU LER community—alums, students, faculty, and staff. Our goal for the future is to contin- ue to build a program that provides our students with the best possible educational experience and significantly contributes to the practice of labor, employment relations, and human re- source management. We need your support if we are going to accomplish these goals. To learn how you can get involved see the note from our Alumni Board on the back cover.

One last thing. This will be the School’s final printed newsletter. To save money, and trees, our newsletter will now appear four times a year and come to you via email. To check our mailing list we are also sending this newsletter to alums via email. IF YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE E- VERSION OF THIS NEWLETTER BY THE TIME YOU RECEIVE THE HARD COPY, WE MAY NOT HAVE AN UP TO DATE EMAIL ADDRESS FOR YOU. IF THE NEWSLETTER DID NOT REACH YOU VIA EMAIL, PLEASE SEND JESSICA STEELE (jgs18@psu.edu) FROM OUR STAFF YOUR CURRENT EMAIL ADDRESS. WE PROMISE NOT TO OVER DO THE MAILINGS!

• MPS in Human Resources and Em- ployment Relations Program Student Levi Brown graduated with a B.S. in LER degree in 2005 and earned a second degree in Psychology in 2006. During his time at Penn State he was a member of the Nittany Lions football team, starting at offensive tackle for four seasons and earning All- American honors. In 2007 he was cho- sen by the Arizona Cardinals as the fifth pick in the first round of the NFL draft.

Levi had a great career with the Cardinals playing in Super Bowl XLIII and being picked as an alternate for the Pro Bowl. In his seventh year with the Cardinals he was traded to the Steelers. In 2014 he retired from the NFL.

Even in the midst of his very suc- cessful career in the NFL, Levi was looking to the future. In 2009 he and wife Lynnette Brown (Penn State ’05) became partners in an upscale Scotts- dale, Arizona restaurant. Not long af- ter, Levi applied to the MPS in HRER program. As a masters degree was one of a Levi’s long-term goals, he wanted to get started on his coursework even though his day job with the NFL only left him time to take one to two cours- es a year. The online degree fit his situation well, allowing him to take courses away from campus and work towards the degree at a pace that suit- ed his other responsibilities. He has even found time to intern with Lubin& Enoch, a Phoenix law firm special- izing in employment and labor law founded by LER alum Nicolas Enoch.

Although it will take Levi a few more years to finish the degree, he believes the time spent in the program will be well worth the effort. Now that

he has retired from football, Levi sees himself becoming involved in busi- ness ventures that will require a solid knowledge of human resources and employment relations. As he wrote in his admissions essay for the MPS in HRER program, “As I look forward to the future I realize that whether I have a long or short NFL career a strong educational background will make incorporating new endeavors seam- less.” And where better to get that strong educational background than from his alma mater.

• Shirley Lee Pryce, a student in the School’s new M.P.S. in Labor and Global Workers Rights, recently re- ceived one of her country’s highest honors. This fall Shirley travelled to Jamaica to have the Order of Distinc- tion conferred on her by the country’s Prime Minister for her contribution to the Jamaica Household Workers Un- ion and the Caribbean Domestic Workers Network.

Shirley is the Founder and Presi- dent of the Jamaican Household Workers’ Union. Her organization is one of the founding members of the Caribbean Domestic Workers Net- work. She was actively involved in the campaign to establish the International Labour Organization’s Convention for Domestic Workers, ILO Convention189. In February 2014, she was elect- ed to the leadership of the internation- al Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID). Shirley is a former domestic worker and has been a human rights advocate for over 20 years. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work.

• When Ed Meskey graduated in Spring 2012 with a BS in Labor and Employment Relations he took a job in Microsoft’s accelerated two-year de- velopment program called HR Trax. His first rotation was a Human Re- source Manager in their Advanced Strategy and Research Division in Redmond, Washington. In September 2013 Ed transferred to Microsoft’s International Retail operation and accepted a one-year assignment as an HR Project Manager, as well as an HR Manager for the Sales, Marketing and Services division, based in Shang- hai, China. He recently finished his year in China. We asked him to tell us a bit about the experience.

Prior to enrolling at Penn State I served four years in the Air Force. During my time in the service I had the chance to live in a number of loca- tions and even a few months in Japan. But nothing quite prepared me for China. It is the most challenging coun- try I have lived in. But, in the end, it was the best experience to date.

I always wanted to work interna- tionally, and I had a strong interest in China for many reasons. As soon as I read the job description last May, I was even more excited. I was tasked with being an HR Project Manager and working on a team that begin to build out a replicable HR framework for our physical retail expansion into China. During my time there, Mi- crosoft’s footprint expanded signifi- cantly. One of my proudest moments was when we launched our first "store-in-store" (like a China Best Buy) in Beijing. It was so rewarding to see real full-time employees that we staffed and trained, working in our stores.

My year was full of adventures, both professional and personal, dra- matic and mundane. I remember when I gave one of my first presentations to new employees of Microsoft’s China operation. When I spoke in Chinese for the first minute, the look of shock on people's faces was price- less...although, in retrospect I wonder

HRER Alums Ed Meskey, Stephanie Song, Anqi Wang, and Charlene Xing.

if their shock was because of something hor- rible I accidentally said.

I gained a new appreciation for what it is like to work outside of the corporate HQ. I took on additional responsibilities through- out the year and was able to deliver numer- ous manager trainings after we completely overhauled our performance & development system. I learned to be even more adaptable and I remember receiving an email from a colleague that asked, "Can you fly to Beijing this week to help me deliver the manager readiness training on Friday in English?" This came out of the blue, but like my other adventures, I welcomed the opportunity with open arms. It ended up being a great experi- ence and I loved the collaboration with my Chinese teammates.

I travelled a great deal throughout the year and one thing that I loved was looking for every opportunity to connect with indi- viduals and try to truly understand the cul- ture. I remember one day in the Metro sta- tion I noticed an old woman struggling to carry a bag up the stairs. Everyone was pass- ing by, ignoring her. So I went up to her and in my limited Chinese asked her if I could help. I carried the bag up the stairs for her

LER undergraduate and HRER graduate students are exceptionally well-prepared to enter the world of work. Many of the best employers in the U.S. and around the globe are well aware of this and seek out our grads. They also regularly sponsor internships for our students. If your company has an entry level posi- tion, please let us know and we will make our students aware of the op- portunity. Better yet, make a trip back to campus. We can set up in- terviews right in our office. Or if your company or organization can sponsor an internship, please send us that information. By hiring an LER student or providing an intern- ship experience you could have a significant impact on the life of an LER major or HRER grad student, while greatly benefitting your em- ployer. Below is a partial list of em- ployers who have hired our grads in the last few years:

HIRED LER/HRER GRADS:Google • GE • Volvo Group • Am- azon • Samsung Electronics • Tar- get • PNC • Microsoft • Lockheed Martin • Service Employees In- ternational Union • Lancaster Gen- eral Health • Bell Helicopter •

Textron • National Labor Rela- tions Board • Aria Hotel and Casi- no • United Food and Commer- cial Workers Union • GE China • Air Products • Sheetz Corporate • Hershey Company • Johnson & Johnson • Siemens Medical Solu- tions • Deloitte Consulting • Nes- tle • Penn State University • TEKsystems • JLG Industries • American Rights at Work • Pepsi • Interweave Consulting • US Postal Service.

SPONSORED INTERNSHIPS:Bechtel • Amazon • Lockheed Mar- tin • United Nations • Zurich • NBC Universal • API Tech • The ONE Group • Bank of China • Morgan Stanley • GE • Aerotech • LinkedIn • Target • National Labor Relations Board • USA Football • AFSCME • Disney World • Day & Zimmerman • Air Products • Zero- Chaos • Volvo (Sweden) • Towers Watson • Google • Al-Rawabi Bev- erage Company (Dubai, UAE) • AETNA • Home Instead Senior Care • Aramark • United Food and Commercial Workers Union • Med- Westvaco • Donna Karan • Ter- raCycles.

and when we reached the top she had tears in her eyes. She gave me a hug and said "xie xie" (thank you) more times than I can count.

LER Students Learn and PracticeSustainability in Innovative

CourseI don’t think I will forget that moment andconnection.

I spent my last night in China in style by going out to dinner for spicy Sichuan style hot pot with Penn State LER friends and al- ums Stephanie Song, Anqi Wang, and Char- lene Xing. I love knowing that I can be com- pletely around the world, out of my comfort zone, and there are LER alums to connect with. I owe so much to the Penn State pro- fessors and alums, as working in China would never have been possible without a degree from the School of Labor & Employ-

ment Relations. I look forward to more op- portunities to give back in the future.

Students in Professor Tom Ho- gan’s innovative LER 460 UP HR Ethics course not only learn about ethics, social responsibility, sustain- ability and HR leadership, they also have an opportunity to apply what they learned to a real world situa- tion. Professor Hogan’s course has formed a partnership with the Penn State Sustainability Institute Sus- tainable Communities Collaborative Program and the Borough of State College.

For the Spring 2014 semester, students assisted the Borough in developing a new volunteer operat-

ing model that would better identi- fy, attract, acquire, engage and re- tain volunteers, while learning the value and importance of community service and giving back. Students presented a project status report to the Borough Council in March and a final report and recommendations at the end of April.

Professor Hogan attended the 2014 Annual Sustainable Cities Conference in Eugene, Oregon to share his experience and insights about the course and service learn- ing with other universities and cit- ies.

Society for Labor and Employment Relations (SLER)The Society for Labor and Employment Relations (SLER) is a student organization that provides members with reward- ing activities and events that give them a chance to explore every facet of the School of LER and to develop as LER practitioners. 2013-14 was a very active year for SLER. Our membership grew to over sixty active members. In addition to bringing many speakers to campus to discuss professional development, SLER members alsosponsored a team for THON and worked with the Relay for Life event to raise money to fight can- cer. It also engaged in a number of social events and increased its con- nection and collaboration with the three other clubs that are associated with the School of LER (USAS, SWAPS, and SHRM).

The highlight of SLER’s year

visit we learned from UCP staff what it really takes to care for people with disabilities and the special challenges facing HR professionals in non-profit organizations. In between meetings, SLER members did get to enjoy some time in New York and see the sights. Overall SLER members report learn- ing a tremendous amount about their field, and having some fun in the process. They want to sincerely thank the alums whose gifts to the School made the trip possible and Amy

Dietz, their fearless advisor and van driver.

In 2014-15 SLER plans a major restructuring of the club meet- ings. Instead of guest speakers, the club is going to have interactive activities encompassing the five major facets of the LER major (labor, government, law, consulting, and HR). The goal is to increase social interaction and networking

was the Annual Networking Trip. The 2014 trip took a group of ten LER majors to New York City in

SLER Members Visit with Alum Mark Schnurman during their Spring Networking Trip to New York City.

between students and practition- ers. Most importantly, these activi- ties allow students to interact and

late March. The first stop was Cablevision in Piscataway, NJ where HR Director, and LER Alumni, James Peloso set up a roundtable with several members of his HR team to give us different perspectives on HR work at a large communica- tions corporation. Then it was on to the Big Apple (NYC) to meet with Eastern Consolidated where LER alum Mark Schnurman gave a dynamic talk in which he urged the stu- dents to “never stop learning.” The last leg of the trip was to United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) of New York City. During this

work with their peers, and to apply many of the things that they have learned in the classroom. SLER will also continue to sponsor the many events they have sponsored in the past, including student-faculty luncheons, the annual student- faculty bowling tournament, reconnecting with our alumni when they come to campus for Alumni weekends, dominating IM Volleyball, and travelling to NYC again, this time to visit additional alumni sites during the 2015 SLER Networking trip. SLER is looking forward to a great year!

With a big boost from the Penn State United Stu- dents Against Sweatshop (USAS) chapter Adidas re- cently agreed to pay 2,700 Indonesian gar-ment workers over $2 million in severance pay owed to them since the factory making Adidas garments closed two years ago. The successful agreement was the result of a con- certed international campaign aided by Penn State’s USAS Chapter. Penn State USAS members, which includes several LER ma- jors, met with President Erickson and mem- bers of his council last year to explain why Penn State should terminate its contract with Adidas. President Erickson listened carefully to the students, and a few days later, an- nounced that the University was suspendingits contract with Adidas. He said the suspension would become permanent should Adidas not pay the Indone- sian

workers their severance within 60 days.Before the 60 day period was up, Adidas and the

Indonesian workers announced they had reached an agreement. Damon Sims, Penn State’s VicePresident for Student Affairs, noted after- wards, “The positive result has come, in part, thanks to the diligent and commendable ef- fort of Penn State students, faculty and com- munity members, who continue to demand fairness for workers in the garment industry around the world.” Afterwards,USAS Presi- dent, Lili Hadsell (pictured below) was hon- ored with The Penn State Nancy and Joseph Birkle Student Engagement Award by the Center for Democratic Deliberation as a re- sult of her leadership on this issue. Penn

State USAS coordinates its activities closely with LER and the Center for Global Workers’ Rights.

The International Human Resource Manage- ment Project (IHRMP) was conceived in spring 2012 to encourage scholarly research on interna- tional human resource management (IHRM) and to serve the International HR practitioner community. Through targeted events, our goal has been to de- velop a strong community of academics and practi- tioners passionate about IHRM, enabling the shar- ing of ideas to advance knowledge and practice in the field.After a thorough review by Liberal Arts’ Asso- ciate Dean for Research Eric Silver, the IHRMP was determined to have achieved its objective of raising the LER School’s profile in international HR during the past two years. As a result, last summer the IHRMP was elevated by the College of the Liberal Arts to a full research center status and was renamed the Center for International Human Resource Studies (CIHRS): This new status gives the Center the oppor- tunity to continue to pursue its goals.Professor Elaine Farndale will serve as Director of the Center with the assistance and support of Professors Sumita Raghuram and Helen Liu and the new post-doctoral scholar Maja Vidović. The Center’s next major event will be a second Global IHRM Conference to be held at University Park on May 14-15, 2015.

SHRM Wins Northeast Regional Student Conference and Case CompetitionEight LER/HRER students attended the

2014 Society of Human Resource Man- agement (SHRM) Northeast Regional Stu- dent Conference which was held April 11– 12 in Providence, Rhode Island. The conference provided participants with pro- fessional development opportunities in- cluding workshops, career development mentoring and networking opportunities. Professor Tom Hogan, SPHR, GPHR, serves as a faculty adviser for the PSU SHRM Chapter and attended the Confer- ence with the students along with faculty adviser Greg Loviscky of the Department of Psychology.

The Conference also provided colleges and universities an opportunity to enter

LER Team in the 2014 Society of Human Resource Management Northeast Regional Case Competition with the winners’ check.

the 2014 SHRM Annual Student Confer- ence and 2014 SHRM National Conference and Exposition in Orlando, Florida in June. The $2,500 is intended to help defray the cost of airline tickets and hotel costs.

The LER School team consisted of Christen Sheroff (Co-Captain), Olivia Washington (Co-Captain), Brandon Kreider, Jocelin Linares, Josh Loder, Mal- ory Sanchez, Megan Flaherty, Julia McClarnon (Alternate) and Porche Malo- ney (Alternate). When the results were tal- lied, Penn State topped the 11 teams in the undergraduate division, including Cornell and Rutgers. Not only did our team come home with the winner’ check, they report- ed that competing in the Case Competition

teams into the 2014 SHRM Case Competition. The teams were competing to test their knowledge and skills and for a grand prize of $2,500 and complimentary registrations for

was great fun and a wonderful learning opportunity. Return- ing students are already looking forward to next year’s com- petition!

World Campus MPS in HRER Students Visit UP for Annual On-Campus Hybrid Courses

For the fifth summer in a row, the School of Labor and Employ- ment Relations offered intensive on-campus hybrid classes for HRER students pursuing the Masters in Professional Studies in HRER degree. Fifty students enrolled in one of the three courses offered: HRER 504--Seminar in Employment Relations, HRER 802--Organizations in the Workplace, and HRER 825--Strategic Business Tools for HR Professionals.

Students in the courses complete preparatory work in the weeks preceding the campus visit, attend classes for five days on campus, and complete written work in the weeks following the residential experience. Rex Simpson, Dan Geltrude, and Antone Aboud served as this year's instructors.

The one week in-residence courses are offered to World Cam- pus students to give them a chance to visit the beautiful University Park Campus and experience a mostly face-to face course. Students work hard, but also have time to enjoy the pleasures of “Happy Valley.” This year’s students made several visits to the world fa- mous Creamery for Penn State ice cream and also attended a minor league baseball game at Medlar Field next to Beaver Stadium. The last evening on campus students enjoyed a group dinner on the pa- tio at the Nittany Lion Inn. The evening ended with a short walk to the Nittany Lion shrine for group photos and a rousing rendition of "WE ARE...PENN STATE!"

The School plans to offer the same three on-campus hybrid courses again in the Summer of 2015. Space in the courses is lim- ited. If you are interested in registering, please contact Erin Hetzel, Graduate Program Staff Assistant at eab27@psu.edu.

(Continued from page 3) LER Alums:

Our alums are doing great things, both pro-fessionally and personally. If you have good news, don't be shy about sharing it. Send us a couple sentences and we will include it in future newsletters and post it in the Alumni section of the LER webpage. Its also easy for alums to lose touch with one another. If you want to reconnect with some of your classmates or with the School's faculty member, send us a line letting us know where you are and what you are up to. Again, we'll share the info with the rest of the LER community through our newsletter and webpage. Sooo, send your news to LER staff person Lisa Pierson at

2005 LER Grad Presents Annual Outstanding Alumni Lecture

Since 1997, the LER School has asked an accomplished graduate of our program to deliver the Outstanding Alumni Lecture on campus. Past speakers have in-cluded human resources executives, labor leaders, CEOs, and accomplished labor and employment law attorneys. On November 13, Adam Taliaferro delivered the 16th An- nual Lecture.

Nittany Lion football fans will remember Adam as the Penn State football player who suffered a spinal injury during the October 2000 Ohio State game that left him para- lyzed. Doctors predicted that Adam had a three percent chance of recovering the abil- ity to walk.

Through his incredible determination and courage, tireless rehabilitation and desire to return to a normal life, Adam was walking on his own five months after his injury. In little more than 11 months after his injury, he completed one of the major goals he had established for himself. On September 1, 2001, Adam jogged onto the Beaver Stadi-um turf in front of a jubilant record crowd of more than 109,000, leading the Nittany Lions onto the field against the

Hurricanes.Since his recovery Adam earned his LER degree, complet-

ed law school at Rutgers, worked for a ma- jor law firm, and was elected as a county office holder in New Jersey. He currently works for Bristol Myers Squibb handling Government Affairs and in 2013 he won election to Penn State’s Board of Trustees.

In his lecture, to a crowd of almost 300 students, faculty, staff, and community members, Adam discussed the life lessons he learned during his remarkable recovery. At the top of his list were perseverance and self-belief. He also urged students to enjoy every minute of their years on campus and take advantage of all the out-of-class oppor- tunities Penn State offers. And he very gra- ciously credited the LER major, faculty, and staff with having a very positive impact on his experience at Penn State and his subse- quent success.

Adam’s message, and the genuineness and humility that he displayed in delivering

it, made his talk one of the most compelling and well-received Outstanding Alumni Lectures to date.

in these degrees in the year ahead, in part because LER has a partnership agreement with the National Labor College (NLC) to help its students finish their degrees now that the NLC has closed. In light of the NLC closing, LER is gearing up to fill the void for union officers and activists who want to earn labor-relevant bachelors and master’s degrees by creating new union-focused courses.

At the same time our faculty is in the midst of crafting an online graduate Certificate in International Human Resource Management. The curriculum will be based around a core of four required classes designed to provide HRER Practitioners with the ability to assist organizations as they continue to compete in our global economy.

We have worked very hard to make sure that all of our online courses and degree programs meet Penn State’s high standards for academic excellence. We believe that the exceptionally positive feedback we have received from students over the last six years suggests that we are successful in this regard. Further evidence of the high regard our online programs are held in is the fact that in 2012 TheBestSchools.org, the only rating service for online HR graduate degrees, ranked our MPS in HRER degree as the number one pro- gram nationwide (http://www.thebestschools.org/blog/2012/10/18/20 - online - master - human - resources - degree - programs/ ). We are confident that based on any criteria, Penn State LER is the leading provider of degrees in labor, em- ployment relations, and human resources through online coursework. But

despite our No. 1 ranking, LER does not plan to rest on its past accomplish- ments. We will continue to work hard to make sure that we remain the top program of its kind in our field.

LER Photo GallerySchool of Labor & Employment Relations

Full-Time Faculty 2014-2015Back Row: Paul Clark, School Director; Doug Allen; Alan Derickson; Weichen Zhu; Charles Lumpkins; Tom Hogan; Jean Phillips; Sarah DamaskeMiddle Row: Maya Vidovic; Niki von Lockette; Amy Dietz; Helen Liu; Dennis Gouran; Sumita Raghuram; Paul Whitehead; Ryan LamareFront Row: Mary Bellman; Chad Gray, Stan Gully; Elaine Farndale; Lenny Pollack; Mark Anner Missing: Antone Aboud; Rex Simpson

School of Labor & Employment Relations Staff 2014-2015

Back Row: Patricia Everhart, Emily Morrison, Katelyn Perry; Erin HetzelFront Row: Jessica Steele, Lisa Pierson; Sierra James

2014 LER Annual Student-Faculty Bowling Tournament Team ChampsLeft to Right: Professor Zhu, Professor Whitehead, Cesar Rey, Professor Clark, Malory Sanchez, Meagan Wright

School of Labor & Employment Relations The Pennsylvania State UniversityKeller Bldg., th͙ Floor University Park, PA ͔8͔8 888888888888

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