Inc. Co-chairs of the 50th Anniversary Committee are Lloyd Ulman, professor emeritus of economics, and Clark Kerr, former chancellor and UC president emeritus. Professor Raymond Miles of the Haas School of Business will be the program emcee. Founded in 1945, the institute focuses on labor and employment research. Research by its faculty also supports graduate students in many departments and assists professionals in law, labor and business through the institute's publications. Economics Professor Clair Brown is the current director.
Faculty come together from several academic departments to support the research.
The institute also sponsors several community service programs. These include the Center for Labor Research and Education, the Labor Project for Working Families and the National Center for the Workplace. Even before the institute was founded, Berkeley was a leader in labor education. During the 1930s, faculty were active in San Francisco labor relations. The following year, Kerr created the Institute of Industrial Relations.