University Consortium on Employee Share Ownership

Overview of the University Consortium on Employee Share Ownership

In October 2024, the Rutgers University Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing launched the first international academic network dedicated to fostering collaboration among university-based initiatives that advance the study and practice of employee share ownership. 

Driven by growing interest and new generations of scholars entering the field, the University Consortium on Employee Share Ownership brings together an initial dozen major universities, giving participating institutions a shared space to collaborate. An informal voluntary grouping based on cooperation, the consortium connects new initiatives to established resources and encourages mutual support. It seeks to enhance scholarship and support the program development of member institutions. This invaluable set of relationships and access to resources is intended to undergird the growth and success of new and existing university centers.

Partners

Consortium partners each have an institutional body of work in employee share ownership,  in one or more of the following areas: 

• Research and teaching on employee share ownership

• Practice such as policy analysis, community engagement, and convening

• Professional education for company leaders, employees, and service providers

Participants are part of the largest community in the world of scholars and practitioners studying and supporting employee share ownership.  In addition to the Rutgers Institute, other cooperating universities and major educational institutions include:

• Beyster Institute at University of California San Diego Rady School of Management

• California State University - East Bay, College of Business and Economics

• Kellogg College, University of Oxford, Center for Mutual and Co-owned Businesses

• Kelso Institute Europe (Berlin) in cooperation with European University Viadrina (Frankfurt Oder)
• Ohio Employee Ownership Center at Kent State University
• International Centre for Co-operative Management, Saint Mary's University

• The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program

• The Platform Cooperativism Consortium at The New School

• The Ownership Project at Harvard Business School

• Penn ESOP Leadership Program for CEOs and Presidents

• University of Colorado - Boulder, Media Economies Design Lab

• Academic Center for Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Wilson College of Business, University of Northern Iowa

• White Rose Employee Ownership Centre

The consortium collaborates with the National Center for Employee Ownership and other non-profit organizations in the field to carry out joint projects.

The consortium expects to grow and welcomes new prospective partners. It convenes in person at least once per year at a Rutgers Institute symposium or workshop, and meets regularly online.