UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Interview #691
HENEMAN III, HERBERT G.

HENEMAN III, Herbert G. (1944- )
Professor, School of Business
At UW: 1966-2001

Interviewed: 2004	
Interviewer: Charlotte Frascona
Length: 59 minutes

Educational and career background; Industrial Relations Research Institute (IRRI); Directorship of IRRI; Reasons for closing of the IRRI. 

Interview Session (October 24, 2004): Digital File

00:00:17	Herbert Heneman discusses his educational background at Wabash College, where he majored in economics and psychology.  He earned his master’s degree and PhD at the University of Wisconsin Industrial Relations Research Institute (IRRI).  He also worked in human resources and research.

00:01:44	He joined the faculty of the School of Business in the management and human resources department at UW.  He retired in 2001.

00:02:38	Several professors steered him toward studying industrial relations.

00:03:28	He talks about a fellowship he received through the National Defense Education Act (NDEA).

00:04:08	HH discusses his work as an IRRI faculty member and as acting director in 2001.

00:04:50	He describes long-term changes in the IRRI since his arrival at UW in 1966.  Initially, the program was well-funded and its students were close-knit.  As funds dried up, the IRRI could no longer support students.  Numerous influential faculty retired or left and drained the program of its strength.

00:07:24	Most of the IRRI's funds came from grants from the Department of Labor.  HH mentions that Gerald Somers was very adept at gaining funding for the program.

00:08:27	HH talks about the IRRI during the late 1960s in relation to the Vietnam War and the TAA.

00:09:14	He speculates that Letters & Science administrators associated the IRRI with TAA activism.

00:12:31	He thinks that the interdisciplinary character of the IRRI and the degree of students' freedom in choosing research topics were key strengths of the program.  He cites the strength of training in statistics and research.

00:14:30	High-quality students drew faculty to the IRRI.

00:15:20	HH explains why faculty drifted away from the IRRI.  Institutional economics faculty were never replaced.  New faculty affiliated more closely with their specific departments.

00:17:18	He talks about the limitations imposed on faculty (and on the IRRI) by more stringent tenure requirements.  

00:19:38	Shifts in the subjects covered by the IRRI, such as collective bargaining, further diminished faculty participation in the progam.

00:20:34	HH explains that some faculty fought vigorously to save the IRRI because of its interdisciplinary character and its diversity of students.

00:22:46	IR programs at other universities have survived because--unlike the IRRI--they have a nucleus of tenured faculty, full-time administrators, and a secure budget.  Furthermore, the IRRI at UW has not been able to garner external support from industries.

00:25:55	HH describes attempts to change the institutional structure of the IRRI by placing it within other schools or by making it a self-standing department.  IRRI faculty wanted to remain independent.

00:29:33	He reluctantly agreed to serve as director of the IRRI.  During this time, he worked to recruit a new full-time director.

00:32:30	Herbert Heneman continues to talk about his tenure as director of the Industrial Relations Research Institute (IRRI).  He discusses attempts to reach out to new faculty and to make the program more attractive to student recruits.

00:36:13	HH initiated a financial aid committee to address issues of student funding.

00:41:07	He talks about working with other departments on a cluster-hire proposal.

00:43:56	HH discusses attempts to earn tenure-granting authority for the IRRI.  The associate dean supported this endeavor and also helped the IRRI construct a package to offer to a new director.

00:45:18	The prime candidate for the directorship withdrew at the end of the academic year 2001, when HH retired.

00:48:10	In his opinion, the College of Letters & Science was committed to rebuilding the IRRI, but it simply didn't work--they could find few candidates to become director.  The program became more vulnerable during the 2002 budget crunch.  

00:50:10	He notes the lack of committed support among faculty for renewing the IRRI.

00:51:40	He thinks that the second failed attempt to recruit a new director, combined with budget constraints, convinced administrators to close the IRRI. 

00:56:30	HH offers some closing comments on the IRRI.

00:59:07	End of interview.

END