Alumni and Friends

Welcome from the Department Head

 

Welcome to the alumni section of our website. I am pleased that you have taken the time to visit. As you may know, our department was established in 1962 as the Department of Vocational and Technical Education (VOTEC). At that time our primary objective was to prepare secondary school teachers in agriculture, home economics, business, health, and industrial arts. Our focus changed in 1990 as a result of a national decline in secondary vocational education enrollments, an increased responsibility for community colleges to provide occupational training, and the formalization of human resource development as an academic field of study. In response to these changes, we adopted a new department name and focus. As the Department of Human Resource Education (HRE), we are still actively involved in preparing future educational leaders through our program emphasis on human resource development (HRD), e-learning, and instructional leadership in community colleges.

Although these changes are significant, they have allowed us to maintain our standing as one of the best programs in the country in educating and training future leaders in HRE. We continue to be ranked in the top ten programs nationally by U.S. News and World Report; we ranked 6th in 2008! Our department has also received two national awards that provide additional evidence of our strong reputation and the high quality of our faculty, staff, and students. We recently were named the “Outstanding HRD Program of the Year” from the Academy of Human Resource Development and the editors of geteducated.com named our HRD Online Master's degree program a “Top 10 Best Buy” among HR-related online programs.

In recent years, we have responded to changes in a proactive and strategic manner. Over the past several years, we have dedicated ourselves to creating a strategic plan that will guide our development and further improve the overall quality of our program. We have already accomplished many of the activities identified in our strategic plan and have begun to see the benefit of these changes for our students and faculty.

As you explore our website, I am sure you will be impressed with the many accomplishments and activities of our faculty and students. Our faculty and students continue to be recognized for their scholarship and teaching through major campus and external awards. We have a stong history of research funding, having won grant competitions from the National Science Foundation and the U. S. Department of Education. Our online master's degree programs in human resource development and community college teaching and learning continue to evolve and serve as examples of the exciting potential for online learning. Most recently, our online program has expanded in partnership with the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine to offer a master's degree with emphasis on Health Profession Education for physicians.

As you can probably tell, I am excited by our accomplishments and the overall quality of our faculty, staff, students, and alumni. We have reason to be proud of our extensive research activities, the quality of our instructional programs, and the professional accomplishments of our alumni. It is comforting to know that we are moving in the right direction and that our solid foundation, collaborative work culture, and positive momentum are strengths that will help guide us in the future. I hope you are equally proud to be a graduate or friend of our department. I encourage you to stay involved and keep us informed about your accomplishments, both personal and professional.

Steven R. Aragon
Associate Professor and Interim Department Head
aragon@illinois.edu