Douglas L. Kruse Appointed to the J. Robert Beyster Professorship of Employee Ownership
Rutgers Distinguished Professor Douglas L. Kruse, a nationally recognized expert in the fields of economics and labor relations, has been appointed to the J. Robert Beyster Professorship of Employee Ownership.
The Rutgers University Board of Governors approved the professorship at its meeting Thursday. An endowed professorship is one of the highest honors a university can bestow and is reserved for an eminent scholar whose work and research significantly advances the discipline. Kruse, a faculty member at the School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR), received the professorship in recognition of his extensive research in employee ownership and profit sharing. He currently serves as the associate director of the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers. He has written or contributed to more than 120 scholarly articles in peer-reviewed journals and publications. Kruse has also authored, co-authored, or edited 14 books about the workplace, including The Citizen’s Share and Profit Sharing: Does It Make a Difference?
“I am honored to be named to the Beyster Chair,” Kruse said. “I look forward to continue working with our large network of international scholars and practitioners to explore when and how employee ownership can contribute to enhancing the well-being of workers, firms, communities and the larger society.”
He has served in several advisory roles including as a senior economist on the White House Council of Economic Advisers in 2013-2014; research associate with the National Bureau of Economic Research; a member of the New Jersey State Rehabilitation Council; and the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. He was also on Gov. Phil Murphy’s transition team.
The J. Robert Beyster Professorship, a renewable five-year term, began in fall 2010 with a gift from the Foundation for Enterprise Development to SMLR. Beyster, who had an ongoing relationship with SMLR, was a nuclear physicist and entrepreneur and a pioneer in employee profit sharing. Kruse’s term begins July 1, 2025.
