Advancing Employee Share Ownership, SMLR Appoints 34 Research Fellows
Thursday, Jan 12, 2023

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing today appointed 34 scholars and subject matter experts to join its diverse, global community of research fellows. The announcement comes as the Institute convenes its annual Fellows Workshop in Honor of Louis O. Kelso and launches a Coursera Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to educate the public about employee share ownership.

“As researchers and policymakers explore how equity and profit shares in companies can broaden private property ownership, our research fellows are focused on answering critical questions,” said Joseph Blasi, the J. Robert Beyster Distinguished Professor and Director of the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing. “Additionally, the free Coursera curriculum will make the insights of the Institute’s past and present research fellows accessible to interested citizens, employees, and thought leaders.”

The Institute is the world’s leading academic research hub dedicated to the study of employee share ownership, equity compensation, profit sharing, and worker cooperatives. The 2022-23 class of research fellows represents the largest and most diverse cohort in the 15-year history of the program. They are:

  • Rina Agarwala, Johns Hopkins University, Kendeda Fellow
  • Yifat Aran, University of Haifa (Israel), Institute Fellow
  • Filippo Belloc, University of Siena (Italy), Nachson and Arieh Mimran Fellow
  • Tanya Smith Brice, Council on Social Work Education, Kendeda Fellow
  • Adriane Clomax, University of Southern California, Kendeda Fellow
  • James de le Vingne, Employee Ownership Association (UK) & Ownership at Work (UK), Executive Fellow
  • David Finegold, Chatham University, Senior Fellow 
  • Matthew Fisher-Post, Paris School of Economics (France), Institute Fellow
  • Fred Freundlich, Mondragon University (Spain), Kendeda Fellow
  • Mark Clayton Hand, Southern Methodist University, Institute Fellow and Corey Rosen Fellow
  • Jayasri (Joyce) Hart, “Own It! Louis Kelso’s Macroeconomic Fix” Filmmaker, Executive Fellow
  • Renee Hatcher, University of Illinois Chicago, Kendeda Fellow
  • Molly Hemstreet, Industrial Commons & Opportunity Threads, Executive Fellow
  • Denise Kasparian, University of Buenos Aires (Argentina), Kendeda Fellow
  • Esteban Kelly, United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives, Executive Fellow
  • Jungook Kim, Chatham University, Employee Ownership Foundation Louis O. Kelso Fellow
  • Kyoung Yong Kim, Villanova School of Business, Employee Ownership Foundation Louis O. Kelso Fellow
  • Felice Klein, Boise State University, J. Robert Beyster Fellow
  • Fabio Landini, University of Parma (Italy), Nachson and Arieh Mimran Fellow
  • Alison Lingane, Project Equity, Executive Fellow
  • Jens Lowitzsch, Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) (Germany) & Kelso Institute Europe at Berlin, Faculty Fellow and Mentor of the Institute
  • Christopher Mackin, Harvard Law School, Ray Carey Fellow
  • Campbell McDonald, Ownership at Work (UK), Executive Fellow
  • Cian McMahon, St. Mary’s University (Canada), Patrick J. McGovern Fellow
  • Jack Moriarty, Ownership America, Institute Policy Analysis Fellow
  • Eve O’Connor, Harvard University, Institute Fellow
  • Simon Pek, University of Victoria (Canada), Social Capital Partners Fellow
  • Sarah Reibstein, Barnard College, Institute Fellow
  • Andrew Robinson, Leeds University Business School (UK) & Ownership at Work (UK), Faculty Fellow and Mentor of the Institute
  • Adria Scharf, Rutgers University, Employee Ownership Foundation Louis O. Kelso Fellow 
  • Aquilina Soriano Versoza, Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California, Executive Fellow
  • Valerie Whitcomb, Salisbury University, Employee Ownership Foundation Louis O. Kelso Fellow
  • Nancy Wiefek, National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO), Joseph Cabral Distinguished Scholar and Fellow
  • Trevor Young-Hyman, University of Pittsburgh, Employee Ownership Foundation Louis O. Kelso Fellow

The Institute made the announcement before its annual Fellows Workshop in Honor of Louis O. Kelso (January 13-15), one of the world’s largest convenings of experts on capital shares in the workplace.

Broadening our reach beyond campus, the Institute also revealed the launch of its first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for the public and employees, “Our Share: Employee Ownership as a Wealth Sharing Tool.” Developed by the Institute’s Director of Education and Collaboration, Adria Scharf, the free course uses a series of short, engaging videos to introduce the basics of employee share ownership. It is the first course on the virtual learning platform Coursera focused on this topic.

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). One recent initiative (The Employee Ownership Online Education Program), sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, features free online videos to help retiring business owners 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, and other donors, it has grown to become one of the largest fellowship programs at Rutgers University with more than 200 research fellows and faculty mentors worldwide.

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