SMLR Info

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – The Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing today announced the appointment of 35 research fellows, including the inaugural Pete Stavros Fellows, to expand its global community of scholars, subject matter experts, and practitioners. Convening today at the Institute’s annual conference in New Jersey, the research fellows are studying employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), equity compensation plans, worker cooperatives, and related business models that enable workers to share in the profits that they create for their employers.

“We’re proud to support these research fellows as they work to solve the growing problem of wealth inequality and help business leaders understand the benefits of employee ownership,” said Bill Castellano, Professor and Director of the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing. “Our prior studies have shown that employees participating in equity programs have more long-term savings than comparable workers in similar industries. Employee ownership is also related to improved organizational performance and offers a viable strategy for business owners seeking to sell the firm to their employees.”

The Institute is the world’s leading academic research hub for employee share ownership and profit sharing. The fellowships are funded by dedicated endowments at Rutgers University, along with major foundations, employee-owned companies, and individuals interested in deepening knowledge in this growing field.

This year’s class is the largest in the 18-year history of the program and includes the recipients of new fellowships supported by Pete Stavros, the Co-Head of Global Private Equity at KKR and Founder and Chairman of Ownership Works, a non-profit focused on building employee share ownership. The $50,000 Pete Stavros Fellowships seek to identify the next generation of leading economics and finance scholars studying these issues.

• Yifat Aran, University of Haifa (Israel), Nachson and Arieh Mimran to.org Fellow
• Laura Beltran-Figueroa, Rutgers University, Employee Ownership Foundation/Louis O. Kelso Fellow and Applied Research Lab Fellow
• Ethan Bernstein, Harvard University, Bill and Connie Nobles Fellow
• Vanessa Bransburg, Democracy at Work Institute, Executive Fellow
• Lorin Busaan, University of Victoria (Canada), Institute Fellow
• Alexander Busch, MIT, J. Robert Beyster Fellow
• Fiona Chen, Harvard University, J. Robert Beyster Fellow
• Christine Curella, Hive Ownership, Executive Fellow
• Erik Forman, City University of New York, Applied Research Lab Fellow
• Bill Fotsch, Economic Engagement, Executive Fellow
• Ellen Frank-Miller, Workforce & Organizational Research Center, Executive Fellow
• Joseph Fridman, City University of New York, Executive Fellow
• Lisa Gomez, Former Assistant Secretary of Labor, Executive Fellow
• Eric Hoyt, University of Rhode Island, Employee Ownership Foundation/Louis O. Kelso Fellow
• Oyindamola A. Ijewere, Wilmington University, Nachson and Arieh Mimran to.org Fellow
• Matthew Johnson, Duke University, Pete Stavros Fellow
• Fidan Ana Kurtulus, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Pete Stavros Fellow
• Nathan Lazarus, MIT, J. Robert Beyster Fellow
• Christopher Mackin, Harvard University, Abby Rockefeller Fellow
• Julian McKinley, Democracy at Work Institute, Executive Fellow
• Atul Mitra, University of Northern Iowa, Faculty Fellow and Mentor
• Ben Miyamoto, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Executive Fellow
• Thomas Muirhead, Hive Ownership, Executive Fellow
• Erik Olsen, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Employee Ownership Foundation/Louis O. Kelso Fellow
• Pankaj Patel, Villanova University, Joseph Cabral Distinguished Scholar and Fellow
• Simon Pek, University of Victoria (Canada), Corey Rosen Fellow
• Chantal Pezold, MIT, J. Robert Beyster Fellow
• Jamie Pockrandt, Democracy at Work Institute, Executive Fellow
• Ethan Rouen, Harvard University, Pete Stavros Fellow
• Rik Sen, University of Georgia, Ford Foundation Fellow
• Darryl Shoemaker, Former Chief Talent Development Officer at HDR, Executive Fellow
• Jason Spicer, Baruch College, W.K. Kellogg Foundation Fellow
• Steve Storkan, Employee Ownership Expansion Network (EOX), Executive Fellow
• Huanan Xu, Indiana University at South Bend, Faculty Fellow and Mentor
• Rodrigo Zuloaga, Centro de Capital Incluyente (Mexico), Executive Fellow

Click here to learn more about the fellows and their research topics.

“Evidence shows that employee ownership is a bipartisan strategy linked to positive outcomes for workers and firms,” said Adria Scharf, Assistant Professor and Senior Associate Director of the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing. “The fellows’ research strengthens our understanding of what works, for whom, and under what conditions.”

The Institute will introduce the new fellows at its annual conference on employee share ownership research (January 9-11), one of the world’s largest gatherings of experts on capital shares in the workplace.

Press Contact

Steve Flamisch
Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations
848.252.9011 (cell)
steve.flamisch@smlr.rutgers.edu

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.

About the Institute

SMLR’s Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing conducts empirical research, analyzes policy, and sponsors the leading global fellowship program and academic conferences in the field. The Institute also manages a program to help college professors teach about these subjects (The Curriculum Library for Employee Ownership) and a technical assistance center (The NJ/NY Center for Employee Ownership), including a new program with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

The Institute recently launched an Applied Research Laboratory funded by the Prudential Foundation. The Institute offers a free Coursera course and a free online program with short, engaging videos introducing employee ownership, sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, to show retiring business owners how to sell to their employees.

About the Fellowships

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, the Joseph Cabral Endowment, and other donors, it has grown to become one of the largest fellowship programs at Rutgers University with more than 250 research fellows and faculty mentors worldwide.

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