The status of the University’s School of Labor and Employment Relations as an independent school could change, pending a decision by administrative officials.

The University has proposed a merger of the school with a larger college, such as the College of Business. Michael Carrigan, co-chair of the Labor Education Advisory Board and president of the Illinois AFL-CIO union, said in an email that his labor union unanimously opposes the merger. Unions enroll their members in a program at the school, and he believes a merge could result in less participation and deterioration of the program.

“In almost every case where a university has merged a Labor Program into a School of Business the program has been destroyed,” he said. “The Business school is not as interested in maintaining the same areas of interest, strategy or purpose and the labor programs are compromised.”

At a House Economic Development Committee hearing held on Oct. 14, Provost Ilesanmi Adesida spoke on behalf of the University. 

“We are working with the School to ensure that it can continue to be strong and actually become even stronger in the future,” he said at the hearing. “We are exploring whether some new place within the University would allow the school, its students, its faculty, and its outreach programs to operate more effectively and to expand its excellence.”

He said if the decision is made to merge the school, it will go through a long process. The merger will need to be approved by an Urbana-Champaign Senate subcommittee, various University offices and the University’s Board of Trustees.

“Being part of a larger unit could have a number of immediate benefits such as increased interdisciplinary research collaboration opportunities for faculty and students, increased flexibility in educational curricula that would enhance opportunities for students, increased possibilities for faculty hiring and joint appointments, (and) increased competitiveness in the job market for students when they graduate,” he said.

Campus spokeswoman Robin Kaler said the University is evaluating all its schools and looking for opportunities to help them grow. 

“We are asking all of our departments, schools and colleges to take a hard look at how they are organized, and to assess whether a different organizational structure could enhance excellence,” she said in an email. “We know that the School of Labor and Employment Relations wants to increase its master’s degree enrollments, for example, and it needs campus support and a larger infrastructure to do that.”

Regardless of the University’s intent to foster growth, Carrigan said the best way for the school to grow is to remain an independent unit. 

“The University of Illinois’ School of Labor and Employment Relations is known nationwide for being in the top three for its program of excellence,” he said. “We believe that left in its current form, the school will continue to grow and prosper.”

There is both history and thoughtful decision making behind the school’s independence, Carrigan said.

From Carrigan’s perspective, a merger would not do the school justice.

“This school was a win-win for both business and workers. The success of the program is a testament to the vision of organized labor all those years ago,” he said. “It has far exceeded our expectations and it would be a shame to see it fail in another unit of study.”

Danielle can be reached at [email protected].