CENTER ON LABOR RIGHTS IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY
Department of Labor Studies and Employment Relations
Penn State University

            In April 2009, a Symposium on Sweatshops and Labor Standards was held on the University Park campus to discuss the state of research on sweatshops, labor standards, and labor rights and explore the possibility of a center to provide research leadership in this area.  Top experts from academia, NGOs, government, and unions were invited to discuss current research and assess the need for a center. 
The Symposium discussions provided a great deal of insight into the existing body of research in this area and suggested a possible research agenda for the future.  The discussions also provided information on potential sources of funding for future research on global labor rights and standards.  The symposium participants were very helpful in shaping a general framework for a possible center.  And lastly, they came to a consensus on a tentative name--Center on Labor Rights in a Global Economy.
            Based on discussions at the April symposium, and subsequent discussions with LER faculty and directors of existing centers and institutes in Liberal Arts, the following mission statement was drafted.

Objectives/Mission
A Center on Labor Rights in a Global Economy shall be created in the Department of Labor Studies and Employment Relations at Penn State University and shall endeavor to:
1. Build an international network of scholars doing research on labor rights in a global       economy.
2. Generate interest among, and support for, Penn State faculty from a variety of   disciplines interested in doing research on global labor rights
3.  Facilitate discussion between scholars doing research in this area and the major stakeholders involved:  employers, unions, governments, NGOs, etc.
4.  Encourage greater research in the area of global labor rights by raising the profile of the issue, making seed money available, facilitating relationships between scholars, facilitating access to stakeholders, publicizing funding opportunities, etc.
5.  Engage in public scholarship and education in an effort to inform policy makers and the public about the state of global labor rights.
6.  Identify and encourage funding for research on this area, both to support the work of the Center and to support the work of scholars around the world.
7.  Recruit a small core group of top scholars to the Department and to the University
8.  Build a core group of the top scholars/fellows/associates in the area of global labor rights from around the world to advise and guide the center and to participate in its activities.
9.  Build the Department’s overall expertise in the area of international human resources and employment relations.
10.  In the longer term, the Center might consider the creation of a journal that would focus on global labor rights as a means of stimulating interest in the area and more widely disseminating research on this issue.
11.  In the longer term, the Center’s goal is to be recognized internationally as the leading            research group on this issue.

Personnel
Currently, the Department has several faculty with teaching or research interests related to the issue of labor rights in a global economy. 
The Department will conduct a search for a senior scholar with an international reputation in the area of global labor rights to serve as the founding Director of the Center.  This person will have the opportunity to build the Center and establish it as the preeminent academic program focusing on research and other activities related to labor rights in a global economy.
The Department will also create an advisory board that will draw together top scholars from around the world interested in issues related to global labor rights.