沃顿商学院人力资源中心成立于1921年，是沃顿商学院建立的第一个研究中心，旨在研究商业的经济和社会问题。在宾夕法尼亚大学艺术与科学研究生院第一位女性教师Anne Bezanson教授和沃顿商学院院长Joseph Willits的指导下，中心最初的研究方向是劳资关系、特定行业的问题和经济学；后来，研究逐渐转向定价历史、劳动力迁移和流动性以及生产率。
多年来，该中心的方向发生了很大变化，反映工作场所不断变化的问题。对工会和劳资关系的兴趣让位于对招聘、保留、与新法律法规相关的新员工关系问题，以及白领和高管工作。 中心支持的研究现在非常密切地关注商界的当代问题，着重工商管理和人力资源管理。
该中心的使命是促进人力资源和员工关系领域的高管与在这些领域进行教学和研究的教师之间的思想交流，并通过积极的会议，互动会议和研讨会以及出版物计划传播研究成果。
人力资源中心是学者和从业人员对人力资本问题感兴趣的中心，包括人力资源实践以及人力资本行业的供应商。通过教师研究以及与来自世界各地的人力资源高管建立联系的机会，获取有关人才管理，劳动力培训和教育，多样性等的最新想法。
该中心设有由高级人力资源管理人员组成的会员小组，他们参加中心制定的定期会议和计划。 该中心每年六月共同举办一年一度的沃顿商学院领导会议，并在秋季举办一年一度的人民与组织学术会议 ，以及全年的金融服务小组和研究咨询小组圆桌会议。中心还为教师和博士生提供资金，以追求他们在人力资源和管理相关领域的研究议程。
The Wharton Center for Human Resources was established in 1921 as the first research center at Wharton to study the economic and social issues of business. Under the guidance of Professor Anne Bezanson, the first female faculty member of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, and Wharton Dean Joseph Willits, the Center's initial research interests were in industrial relations, industry-specific issues, and economics; Later, research gradually turned to the history of pricing, Labour migration and mobility, and productivity.
Over the years, the centre's direction has changed considerably, reflecting changing issues in the workplace. Interest in unions and industrial relations gave way to interest in recruitment, retention, new employee relations issues related to new laws and regulations, and white-collar and executive jobs. Research supported by the Centre now looks very closely at contemporary issues in the business community, with an emphasis on business administration and human resource management.
The mission of the Center is to facilitate the exchange of ideas between executives in the fields of human resources and employee relations and faculty who teach and research in these fields, and to disseminate research results through active conferences, interactive conferences and workshops, and publication programs.
The HR Centre is a hub for academics and practitioners interested in human capital issues, including human resource practices as well as providers of the human capital industry. Gain the latest ideas on talent management, workforce training and education, diversity, and more through faculty research and networking opportunities with HR executives from around the world.
The Centre has a member group consisting of senior human resource managers who participate in regular meetings and programmes developed by the Centre. The Center co-hosts the annual Wharton Leadership Conference in June, the annual People and Organizations Conference in the fall, and the annual Financial Services Group and Research Advisory Group roundtables. The Center also provides funding for faculty and doctoral students to pursue their research agendas in areas related to human resources and management.