ILR Unveils Outreach Realignment Plan
ILR Connections, Winter 2006
ILR Extension celebrates its 60th anniversary this year in the midst of change. Harry Katz announced during his candidacy that, if named dean, he would undertake an evaluation and reorganization of the Extension Division, with the intention of building a vital outreach program. Shortly after assuming his new role he named Susanne Bruyère the associate dean of outreach, and together they have taken on the challenge of redefining ILR's mission of Advancing the World of Work.
On September 19, 2005, Katz and Bruyère announced a plan for a new outreach structure, into which faculty and staff would begin to transition immediately, with the goal of being fully operational by spring 2006.
When the state of New York legislature founded the School of Industrial and Labor Relations in 1945, they charged it with a very specific mission, composed of three central tenets, which still guide the School to this day: "to improve industrial and labor conditions in the state through the provision of instruction, the conduct of research, and the dissemination of information in all aspects of industrial, labor, and public relations." Teaching and research were the backbone of all college studies, but outreach efforts were, and continue to be, a unique characteristic of the land grant colleges. Though the world of work has changed dramatically, the program has remained a strong part of ILR’s identity.
Katz's initial assessment found that Extension was financially sound and that the work being done involved the core issues of industrial and labor relations. ILR still had top-notch faculty doing excellent research and disseminating that information to the appropriate groups and organizations. Essential organizational problems, however, inhibited Extension's growth.
First, despite the radical changes in the world of work in 60 years, the structure of Extension had changed only slightly. The issues that affect the world of work are broader than previously, and they involve workplace issues that are more layered and wider in scope than the labor-management disputes of the 1940s. The changes that had occurred in the workplace weren't reflected in the organization of Extension's programs.
Second, competitors now are offering the same programs that Extension traditionally offered, whereas its services previously were unique. It is now necessary for ILR to capitalize on the quality of the product being offered.
"There's no institution as big as us, as broad as us, and as deep as us in addressing workplace issues. But we have to find ways to take advantage of that depth and breadth," Katz explained during the unveiling of the new Extension structure.
A key piece of providing a "deep and broad" view into issues of the workplace is being sure that all resources are working as a unified whole, a challenge both for Extension and the ILR School as a whole. Though it has lessened in the past few years, there has always been a divide between the residential and outreach segments of the School; Extension had additional problems with internal fragmentation. Too many programs and too much research were being conducted individually instead of collectively, which affected the quality of offerings. "Our best work occurs through more coordinated activities," Katz asserted.
The new strategy of ILR Extension is to address collectively the issues facing the workplace through the coordinated efforts of thematic groups conducting training, consultation, research, and information dissemination projects. Though the members of these groups may be based in different ILR offices across the state, their work will be connected with and defined by their respective groups. Katz and Bruyère have initially created groups in eight thematic areas and emphasize that these groups will, and should, change over time as the issues facing the world of work change. The thematic groups also list resident faculty working in the same research areas, so that, while they will not officially be part of the groups, more collaboration and information sharing can take place.
This structure is a dramatic transformation of the traditional geographically based alignment and programming of the Extension offices. Though the current culture of Extension will be changed radically, the belief is that working within these new cohort groups will create a more effective program.
"I really think that we will get some synergistic benefits we’re not realizing," Bruyère told faculty and staff. While some of the groups will continue to carry out traditional Extension programming, the administration is encouraging the individual thematic groups to re-examine how they can best create impact within their field, suggesting that courses may not always be the best way to serve the world of work.
"We have to grow the consulting side, grow the research side, and the technical assistance side of our capability to complement the course offerings that we provide," Katz said, proposing a new business model in which Extension offers organizations an array of services that meet several needs, from human resources to diversity to disability programs.
The groups will be supported in their efforts to grow their outreach work by other ILR initiatives and an enthusiastic administration. "A key element of the new plan is to have a better, more coordinated, more sophisticated, more holistic marketing and communications structure," Katz emphasized. This will allow ILR to market packages of services across the thematic teams to outside organizations. Katz readily volunteers himself and Bruyère as messengers for the new Extension; indeed, he sees it as one of the core responsibilities of his position. "I see myself becoming, as dean, a person who sells what we do," he says.
The School also will focus efforts on existing resources, such as The DigitalCommons@ ILR, a digital repository of the research and publications of ILR faculty and researchers created by the Catherwood Library, which will become a key means of sharing information for faculty within the School as a whole.
"We have to set our sights higher," said Katz.
Thematic Area Assignments
Conflict Resolution, ADR, and Labor Relations
Program Lead: Rocco Scanza
Primary Assignment: Marcia Calicchia, Sally Klingel
Secondary Assignment: Nancy Hinkley, Marianne Murphy, Tom Quimby, Andrea Terillion
Resident and Extension Department Faculty: David Lipsky, Ron Seeber
Employment and Disability
Program Leads: Susanne Bruyère, Thomas Golden
Primary Assignment: Carol Blessing, David Brewer, Ray Cebula, Thomas Golden, Nancy Hinkley, Marianne Murphy, Hannah Rudstam, Tony Ruiz, Sharon Treise
Resident and Extension Department Faculty: Vernon Briggs, Policy Analysis and Management faculty
Labor and Employment Law
Program Lead: Esta Bigler
Primary Assignment: Dennis Campagna, Angela Cornell, Linda Donahue
Secondary Assignment: Lee Adler, Susan Brecher, Ray Cebula, Andrea Terillion
Resident and Extension Department Faculty: Lance Compa, Michael Gold, Risa Lieberwitz
Labor and Unions
Program Lead: Sally Alvarez
Primary Assignment: Lee Adler, Gene Carroll, Maria Figueroa, Jeff Grabelsky, Fred Kotler, Peter Lazes, Ken Margolies, Sean Sweeney, K.C. Wagner
Secondary Assignment: Esta Bigler, Nellie Brown, Angela Cornell, Linda Donahue, Lois Gray, Art Wheaton
Resident and Extension Department Faculty: Rose Batt, Kate Bronfenbrenner, Lance Compa, Jeff Cowie, Clete Daniel, Ileen DeVault, Rick Hurd, Harry Katz, Risa Lieberwitz, David Lipsky, Ron Seeber, Lowell Turner
Management Development and Human Resource Management
Program Lead: Tom Quimby
Primary Assignment: Susan Brecher, Nellie Brown, Nancy Lampen, Andrea Terillion, Tom Willett
Secondary Assignment: Hannah Rudstam
Resident and Extension Department Faculty: Brad Bell, Chris Collins, Lee Dyer, Gary Fields, Kevin Hallock, John Hausknecht, Lisa Nishii, Quinetta Roberson, Pamela Stepp, Pat Wright
Workforce, Industry, and Economic Development
Program Lead: Lou Jean Fleron
Primary Assignment: Maralyn Edid, Lois Gray, Reggie Grogan, Francine Moccio, Art Wheaton
Secondary Assignment: David Brewer, Sally Klingel, Sharon Trerise
Resident and Extension Department Faculty: Ron Applegate, Rose Batt, John Bishop, Vernon Briggs, Ron Ehrenberg, Martine Haas, Bob Hutchens, Harry Katz, Bob Smith
