The 25th Anniversary

The tenth anniversary of the LEC building and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the IMLR were both observed in 1972. The number of people using the LEC had steadily increased from 920 persons in 1962 to 39,000 in 1972. Rutgers President Edward J. Bloustein and New Jersey Governor William Cahill addressed a reception commemorating the event on October 18 at Neilson Dining Hall.(31) On May 2, 1981, the fiftieth anniversary of labor education at Rutgers was celebrated by a number of events, culminating in the opening of the Sol Stetin wing of the LEC and the Raleigh Rojoppi Pavilion. Over 1,000 trade unionists, faculty, government, and community representatives attended the opening, including then Labor Secretary, Ray Marshall. By that date, 1,500 public sector union members and 3,000 private sector unionists had been enrolled in the IMLR and labor studies programs. Over 2,000 workers were counseled on off-the-job problems through the Community Services Counseling Project. From its humble origins, the IMLR had become a fully integrated academic institution within the university, without sacrificing its original mission of social uplift and public service.