NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing today appointed 25 research fellows to study how granting stock to employees can sustain and grow the middle class as part of our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The senior researchers, emerging scholars, and subject matter experts announced today represent the most globally diverse class of fellows in the 14-year history of the program.
“The Institute’s scholars study every form of granting equity and profit shares to employees,” said Joseph Blasi, the J. Robert Beyster Distinguished Professor and Director of the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing. “We’re trying to understand the conditions under which shares do and do not work well, both nationally and globally.”
Research shows that owning a piece of the company where you work and sharing in its profits can increase productivity, reduce employee turnover, and help workers build significant wealth with a supportive corporate culture. But as the Institute documented in research commissioned by The Wall Street Journal, women and people of color do not share equally in the rewards. With today’s appointments, the Institute will launch a major research initiative to further study those disparities and how to fix them.
“These scholars will explore how to include more workers in shared prosperity,” said Distinguished Professor Douglas Kruse, Associate Director of the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing. “With a tight labor market, workers are in a stronger position. And national surveys show that they do favor having a share in their company’s performance.”
Representing institutions in Canada, France, Lithuania, Mexico, Slovenia, the UK, and the U.S., the 2021-22 class of research fellows includes:
- Joseph Abdel-Nour, ESSCA School of Management, Corey Rosen Fellow
- Elizabeth Bennett, Harvard Kennedy School / Lewis & Clark College, Institute Fellow
- Gabriel Burdin, University of Leeds, Institute Fellow
- Edward Carberry, University of Massachusetts Boston, Employee Ownership Foundation-Louis O. Kelso Fellow
- Robynn Cox, University of Southern California, Wawa Fellow
- David Erdal, University of St. Andrews, Executive Fellow
- Jose Garcia-Louzao Perez, Vilnius University, Institute Fellow
- Tej Gonza, University of Ljubljana, Rutgers Fellow (Supported by Google.org)
- Jessica Gordon Nembhard, City University of New York, Kendeda Fellow
- Angelina Grigoreyeva, University of Toronto, Social Capital Partners Fellow
- Gonzalo Hernández Gutiérrez, ITESO, Jesuit University of Guadalajara, Nachson and Arieh Mimran to.org Fellow
- Jung Ook Kim, Rutgers University, Employee Ownership Foundation-Louis O. Kelso Fellow
- Kyoung Yong Kim, Villanova University, Rutgers Fellow (Supported by Google.org)
- Yunhyae Kim, Harvard University, Rutgers Fellow (Supported by Google.org)
- Jegoo Lee, University of Rhode Island, J. Robert Beyster Fellow
- Margaret Lund, Co-opera, Executive Fellow
- Christopher Mackin, Harvard University / Rutgers University, Ray Carey Fellow
- Thibault Mirabel, University of Paris Nanterre, Nachson and Arieh Mimran to.org Fellow
- Michael Palmieri, Kent State University / Ohio Employee Ownership Center, Institute Fellow
- Olga Prushinskaya, Democracy at Work Institute, Executive Fellow
- Jack Stack, The Great Game of Business, Executive Fellow
- Stacey Sutton, University of Illinois Chicago, Kendeda Fellow
- Marcelo Vieta, University of Toronto, Faculty Mentor and Fellow
- Valerie J. Whitcomb, Salisbury University, Employee Ownership Foundation-Louis O. Kelso Fellow
- Nancy Wiefek, National Center for Employee Ownership, Joseph Cabral Distinguished Scholar and Fellow
Click here for more information about the fellows and their research topics. Click here for more information about how to apply for a 2022-23 research fellowship.
The Beyster family established the research fellowship program and the J. Robert Beyster endowed professorship in 2008. With generous support from the Beyster Foundation for Enterprise Development, the Employee Ownership Foundation, and other donors, it has grown to become one of the largest fellowship programs at Rutgers University. These scholars join the Institute’s growing network of more than 150 research fellows and faculty mentors worldwide.
About the School
The Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR) is the world’s leading source of expertise on managing and representing workers, designing effective organizations, and building strong employment relationships. SMLR’s Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing conducts empirical research on share plans, sponsors the leading global fellowship program and academic conferences in the field, and does policy analysis. The Institute also manages a technical assistance center (The NJ/NY Center for Employee Ownership) and a program to help college professors teach about these subjects (The Curriculum Library for Employee Ownership).
