The Ford Foundation has approved a grant of $315,000 to the University of Northern Iowa Foundation to support the Iowa Center for Employee Ownership (IA-CEO) program, which is housed in the Wilson College of Business’s economic outreach arm. IA-CEO will use the funding to promote the Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) model to business owners through in-person presentations, speaking engagements, webinars and conferences. Stacy Mullinex, program manager of IA-CEO, said in a news release that an ESOP “circulates the financial benefit of businesses back into the communities, increases wages, retains workers and enables employee wealth creation.” According to a 2021 study done at Rutgers University, five Midwestern states, including Iowa, underperform in ESOP metrics compared to other states. IA-CEO and the Wilson College of Business will be collaborating with the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University to include Wilson College faculty in the institute’s ongoing research fellowship programs, academic research conferences and other programs. IA-CEO will hold the second annual Employee Ownership Conference on Oct. 16 in Ankeny.
