By Steve Flamisch<\/p>\n
It all started with a bad boss.<\/strong><\/p>\n It was the early 1980s and Bill Dwyer was working for PSE&G, reading electric and gas meters. He loved the job\u2014going into homes, getting to know the customers\u2014but his supervisor was a tyrant with a short temper. One day, during an all-hands meeting, the boss publicly humiliated one of Dwyer\u2019s co-workers for making a mistake.<\/p>\n \u201cHe laced into this employee on a tirade,\u201d Dwyer said, taking a deep breath as he recalled the moment. \u201cThis employee started to cry. This is a grown man, and he actually started to cry. He was so humiliated.\u201d<\/p>\n Dwyer decided on the spot that he had to change the way his colleagues were treated. His dad had a suggestion: instead of fighting management,\u00a0become<\/em>\u00a0management. Dwyer enrolled in the labor and employment relations program at Rutgers while still working full-time at PSE&G.<\/p>\n It was a perfect fit.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d come here at night and I\u2019d learn about new approaches to collective bargaining and new ways in which labor and management could work together, and then apply that the next day at work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Dwyer earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in labor studies in 1993 and a master\u2019s degree in labor and industrial relations in 1997. Equipped with the skills he learned at SMLR, Dwyer ascended from meter reader to supervisor, to labor relations representative, to district manager, to manager of labor relations and employee relations for PSE&G\u2019s entire 12,000-person workforce.<\/p>\n Striving to be the antithesis of the bad boss, Dwyer treated his employees with respect and saw the improvements in customer service and efficiency that resulted from it. He retired from the company in 2013 after 37 years of distinguished service.<\/p>\n Eager to share his experiences with the next generation of labor professionals, Dwyer joined the SMLR faculty as a teaching instructor later that year.<\/p>\n \u201cI look around in faculty meetings, I have to pinch myself,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s like, \u2018How did I get here?\u2019 I\u2019m surrounded by some of the people who taught me.\u201d<\/p>\n Dwyer, a Middlesex native who now lives in Bridgewater, estimates he\u2019s taught more than 2,400 students in six years. Along the way, he founded the world\u2019s first student chapter of the Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA), served as president of the SMLR Alumni Association, and spoke at several convocations.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s the best professor I\u2019ve ever had,\u201d said Thomas Costello IV, who is graduating this month with a bachelor\u2019s degree in human resource management and labor studies and employment relations. \u201cHe\u2019s always there when I need advice, even if it has nothing to do with his class. I wouldn\u2019t have gotten my first internship or my first job without his guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n Dwyer has no plans to leave the classroom anytime soon, but he wants to keep helping students long after he\u2019s taught his last course. So when he and his wife, Lois, a retired lab technician, began to plan their legacy, it wasn\u2019t a difficult choice.<\/p>\n \u201cNo other factor has had as much of an influence on my career and my success as the School of Management and Labor Relations,\u201d Dwyer said. \u201cSo we\u2019re going to give something back that is pretty substantial so that others can experience what I was fortunate enough to experience.\u201d<\/p>\n The Dwyers are gifting $50,000 to establish a certificate program on negotiation and conflict resolution\u2014skills Bill honed at PSE&G\u2014and they will leave a large portion of their estate to the School: an estimated bequest of $3 million.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the largest gift in the history of SMLR, which is celebrating its 25th\u00a0<\/sup>year as a degree-granting school in 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cBill and Lois Dwyer\u2019s gift will have a tremendous impact on our school, today and in the future,\u201d SMLR Dean Adrienne Eaton said. \u201cThe certificate program will provide students with life skills that are critically important in nearly any profession, while the legacy gift will enable SMLR to award scholarships to students in need and support faculty and programs centered on conflict resolution and negotiation.\u201d<\/p>\n Nevin Kessler, president of Rutgers University Foundation, noted, \u201cThe tremendous support Bill and Lois have shown through their philanthropy really reflects the extraordinary engagement Bill has had with Rutgers over many years. It\u2019s inspiring to see the Dwyers taking yet another step to prepare the next generation of leaders in his field.\u201d<\/p>\n And while Dwyer is paying it forward, he\u2019s never stopped looking back.<\/p>\n The bad boss from his youth passed away many years ago, but Dwyer remembers him as an inspirational figure. Instead of holding a grudge, he feels a sense of gratitude. Dwyer keeps a picture of the man in his office.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery night when I leave work, I look at that picture and I say, \u2018Thanks,\u2019\u201d Dwyer said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be here today if it wasn\u2019t for him.\u201d<\/p>\n