Our Mission
As the preeminent educational institution in the world focused on work, employment and labor, we are dedicated to generating and disseminating knowledge that improves the lives of workers and transforms the future of work.
As a New York land-grant college, we positively impact individuals and society through:
- Teaching: Creating an engaging and challenging learning environment focused on the development of critical-thinking and problem-solving skills that develop the next generation of leaders.
- Research: Generating innovative and relevant research in the social sciences that is focused on work, employment and labor that influences public policy, informs organizational strategy and improves professional practice.
- Outreach: Applying thought leadership and research into practice for workers, unions, organizations and communities.
Our Vision
Drive positive change in work, employment and labor that advances the world of work.
Our History
Founded in 1945 as the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations, the ILR School today is advancing the world of work through teaching, research and outreach. ILR’s mission is to prepare leaders, inform national and international employment and labor policy, and improve working lives, but as the world of work evolves, the school’s focus broadens to keep pace with that change.
ILR studies many areas that shape the working world and contribute to an organization’s success in a global economy. These include human resource management; labor-management relations; labor economics; organizational behavior; international and comparative labor; labor relations, labor law and history; conflict resolution; management development; diversity management; employment and disability; and social statistics.
An ILR education is grounded in the social sciences. Students and faculty explore and gain an understanding of human behavior through the lens of the workplace. Students also learn how organizations work and how they fit into the larger society and economy. As a result, they acquire knowledge and skills that help them to solve problems on-the-job and to build and manage productive work relationships. An ILR education, for students and professionals, is practical and applied.
ILR has more full-time faculty involved in teaching and research that spans the broad range of work and employment disciplines than any other educational institution of its kind. Its Martin P. Catherwood Library is regarded as the most comprehensive source of information in North America on work, employment and labor issues.