Our History
Building the Foundation
The School of Leadership & Human Resource Development (SLHRD) at Louisiana State University has a long history of educational excellence, and a tradition of continual evolution and change to meet the dynamic needs of workforce and workplace development.
It traces its origin to vocational teacher education programs begun as a result of the Smith‐Hughes Act in 1917. The seed for what was to become the SLHRD was planted with the establishment of two departments at LSU (Agricultural Education and Home Economics Education) in the 1920’s and the establishment of the Industrial Education Department in the 1930’s.
Then, early in 1936, the Louisiana State Board for Vocational Education, acting under the authority of the Federal Vocational Education Acts and the Louisiana State Plan for Vocational Education, designated Louisiana State University Agricultural and Mechanical College as the teacher education center for the preparation of vocational teachers. This designation led directly to the official founding of the School of Vocational Education (SVED) on August 1, 1936, established vocational teacher training as the School’s primary focus, and made LSU eligible for Federal funds under the National Vocational Education Acts.
Mid-Century to the 2000's
Subsequent changes to SVED included the addition of Extension Education and Agricultural Education in the early 1950s. In the 1960s, Extension Education became a separate department, and International Education was incorporated into the School. In the 1980s, Business Education transitioned from the College of Education to the School. Between 1984-86, the School underwent a reorganization, first consolidating from five to four units and later restructuring into a multi-concentration Vocational Education degree program.
In the early 1990s, the School expanded its programs to include human resource training and development, career advancement, and adult education to align with the needs of both public and private sectors. As a result, its role and mission evolved to support workforce development across multiple industries. One of the most significant changes was a shift from primarily preparing individuals to teach vocational and technical subjects at the secondary and postsecondary levels to offering comprehensive training, education, and workforce development programs in schools, higher education institutions, and business sectors.
In 2003, the School was renamed the School of Human Resource Education and Workforce Development (SHREWD) to reflect this evolution.
2010's to Today
In 2012, the School was moved from the College of Agriculture to the newly formed College of Human Sciences and Education (HSE).
In 2016 the School was divided in two with faculty and academic concentrations in Agriculture & Extension Education returned to the College of Agriculture, and faculty and academic concentrations associated with Human Resource Education remaining with the School in the College of HSE. This transformation allowed the School to tighten its strategic focus to emphasize its most successful programs in Human Resource leadership and training and development.
In 2018 the School changed its name to the current School of Leadership and Human Resource Development (SLHRD) to reflect this change in scope and mission.