(Newswise) — 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. “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. “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. “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.