Description

The College of Business and Technology at Western Illinois University, in conjunction with the WIU student chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), will host a Human Resource Management program celebration Thursday, November 2 in Riverfront Hall, rooms 103/104 on the Quad Cities campus.

"The purpose of this event is to celebrate WIU's HRM Program, including those who graduated with the HRM major, HRM minor, HRM concentration in the MBA and others," Human Resource Management Professor Susan Stewart said. "WIU has offered courses in human resources for 10 years on the Quad Cities campus and 57 years on the Macomb campus along with online/remote offerings. We will recognize and appreciate the hard work and dedication of our alumni and supporters who are vital professionals managing an organization's human resources. Coming together will provide us with a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge their contributions and inspire our current students to consider a career in human resources."

The schedule includes:

From 4-5 p.m., participants may attend a workshop titled "Internship Best Practices" and receive one professional development credit (PDC) from SHRM. This workshop will review how to locate student interns including international students, address legal guidelines and more. Participants will ask questions of the WIU Career Center staff, a university immigration specialist, and local employers with established internship programs. All participants will receive additional resources to help start or grow their internship programs. The fee for the workshop is $10.

From 5-6 p.m., the workshop participants, along with WIU alumni, administrators, faculty, students, and community partners will attend a reception featuring keynote speakers WIU President Guiyou Huang, WIU Provost Manoochehr Zoghi, and Brian Irby (Chief Strategy Officer, QC Chamber of Commerce) on "The Importance of HR Professionals and Their Role in Cultivating Talent in the Region." This event will be focused on celebrating the HRM Program at WIU. Appetizers and refreshments will be provided.

"It is incredibly exciting to see where all of WIU's HRM alumni are now working and the impact they are making in the industry today," Management and Marketing Associate Instructor Bruce Western said. "For our HRM program to have been in existence for 57 years, and still educating and training students in this field, is incredible. Our program has stood the test of time, and I am looking forward to seeing how our current alumni and future graduates will continue to make significant advances in the field of Human Resource Management."

The WIU Foundation will be launching a crowdfunding campaign alongside the celebration. This campaign is aimed at alumni who would like to support current students of the Human Resource Management Program. Donations can be made by visiting, bit.ly/WIUHRM2023. Venmo, PayPal, Apple Pay and most major credit and debit cards are accepted.

Registrations for the event and workshop are required. For more information or to register, visit bit.ly/WIUHRM2023. For more information on giving opportunities, call WIU Development Director Liz Nolte at (309) 762-3999.