SMLR Appoints Record Number of Research Fellows to Study Employee Share Ownership and Profit Sharing
Thursday, Jun 20, 2019

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at the School of Management and Labor Relations today unveiled its 2019-20 class of fellows and faculty mentors, featuring 28 scholars from eminent colleges, universities, and policy centers worldwide. This is the largest class in the 11-year history of the fellowship program, including new research fellowships supported by Computershare and Wawa Inc.; three executive fellows helping to shape the Institute’s research agenda; and four employee ownership scholars from Europe and the U.S. serving as faculty mentors and fellows.

“If the goal is financial inclusion and an economy that builds the middle class, then encouraging serious research on both employee share ownership and profit sharing makes a lot of sense,” said Joseph Blasi, the J. Robert Beyster Distinguished Professor and Director of the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing. “The Institute encourages interdisciplinary research at Rutgers and a network of colleges and universities, and we assemble the top experts in the field to develop a vibrant research agenda.”

Capital shares are becoming increasingly prominent in public policy discussions, with the bipartisan Main Street Employee Ownership Act becoming law in late 2018 and several presidential candidates recently introducing legislation to expand shares. The Rutgers fellowships, awarded competitively, enable scholars to advance the study of shares and their impact on the economy. Topics include broad-based employee share ownership, equity compensation, gain sharing, profit sharing, and worker-cooperatives. The fellows will convene at the Institute’s annual Beyster Symposium in La Jolla, California from June 23 – 25. They are:

Research Fellows

  • Daphne Berry, University of Hartford, Robert W. Edwards Fellow
  • Janet Boguslaw, Brandeis University, Louis O. Kelso Fellow & Wawa Inc. Fellow
  • William G. Castellano, Rutgers University, Wawa Inc. Fellow
  • Joo Hun Han, Rutgers University, Computershare Fellow in Equity Compensation
  • Jonathan Handel, University of Southern California, Rutgers Research Fellow
  • George S. Jackson, Virginia Wesleyan University, J. Robert Beyster Fellow
  • Saehee Kang, Rutgers University, Louis O. Kelso Fellow
  • Wilma Liebman, Former Chair of the National Labor Relations Board, Senior Fellow
  • Christopher Mackin, Rutgers University, Louis O. Kelso Fellow
  • Matthew Mazewski, Columbia University, Louis O. Kelso Fellow
  • Lucas McGranahan, University of Illinois at Chicago, Louis O. Kelso Fellow
  • Phil Mellizo, The College of Wooster, Joseph Cabral Distinguished Scholar and Fellow
  • Christopher Michael, Rutgers University, Senior Fellow
  • Frank I. Mullins, University of Alabama at Huntsville, Corey Rosen Fellow
  • Dylan K. Nelson,University of Michigan, J. Robert Beyster Fellow
  • Lenore M. Palladino, The Roosevelt Institute, Corey Rosen Fellow
  • Minh Phan, Columbia University, Louis O. Kelso Fellow
  • Sarah Reibstein, Princeton University, Rutgers Research Fellow
  • Derek E. Rowland,University of Wisconsin at Whitewater, Louis O. Kelso Fellow
  • Katherine Tait, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Rutgers Research Fellow
  • Marshall Vance, Virginia Tech, Wawa Inc. Fellow

Executive Fellows

  • Danyle Anderson, Global Equity Organization
  • Barbara Baksa, National Association of Stock Plan Professionals
  • David Wray, Former President of the Profit Sharing Research Foundation

Faculty Mentors and Fellows

  • Nicolas Aubert, Aix-Marseille University
  • Alex Bryson, University College London
  • Hamid Mehran, Former Assistant Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
  • Virginie Pérotin, Leeds University

Click here for more information about the fellows, their research, and expertise.

“Research continues to show that financial participation by employees has good potential to improve outcomes for employees, firms, and the economy as a whole,” said Distinguished Professor Douglas Kruse, Associate Director of the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing and former Senior Economist for the White House Council of Economic Advisers. “We’re delighted to have such a strong group of fellows for this coming year, including both new and experienced scholars and practitioners, who will help explore both the upsides and downsides of these plans.”

The Beyster family established the research fellowship program and endowed professorship in 2008. The Employee Ownership Foundation later established the Louis O. Kelso Fellowships. Today, this is one of the largest fellowship programs at Rutgers University with a growing network of more than 100 research fellows and faculty mentors around the world. Blasi, Kruse, and Harvard Professor Richard Freeman, co-authors of the book, The Citizens Share: Reducing Inequality in the 21st Century, serve as faculty mentors, joined by senior scholars at other institutions.

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

About Us
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. The Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at SMLR is the first academic institute dedicated to researching broad-based capital shares and their impact on the economy.