Rutgers University’s School of Management and Labor Relations has opened a research institute to study ways to address economic inequality through shares of capital, it announced Wednesday.
The Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing expands the school’s research programs, with a goal of building a more inclusive economy for workers, according to a news release from the university.
“Our faculty have been deeply invested in building up the academic study of capital shares for the last three decades,” Adrienne Eaton, interim dean of the School of Management and Labor Relations, said in a prepared statement. “This brings their programs under one roof and positions us to strengthen and amplify their work.
“It’s the first institute of its kind at a college or university anywhere in the world.”
Joseph Blasi, the J. Robert Beyster Distinguished Professor at the university, will serve as the institute’s director. Douglas Kruse, associate dean for academic affairs, distinguished professor and Beyster Faculty Fellow, will be associate director.
(READ MORE from ROI-NJ on the School of Management and Labor Relations.)
The institute will bring together several university initiatives related to employee ownership:
- The only endowed professorship in the U.S. dedicated to employee share ownership;
- The Fellowship Program on Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing, which supports young scholars and new research in the field;
- The world’s largest academic conferences on capital shares, including the Beyster Symposium and the Mid-Year Fellows Workshop in Honor of Louis O. Kelso;
- Research, course instruction and policy analysis;
- The Curriculum Library for Employee Ownership; and
- The New Jersey/New York Center for Employee Ownership, affiliated with the National Center for Employee Ownership.
