Compensation Dialogue
Compensation scholars from top universities across the country and around the world will meet at the ILR School May 31 and June 1 for a not-so-typical academic conference.
The inaugural Emerging Scholars Conference focuses exclusively on notable work being done by rising academic stars in the field. Senior compensation practitioners will also participate in discussions with the scholars about their research.
Linda Barrington, managing director of ILR's Institute for Compensation Studies, the host of the conference, says the unique format will provide scholars in the early stages of their research careers with an opportunity for interactive, cross-disciplinary dialogue with other scholars doing related work.
The involvement of practitioners, she adds, "will help plant the seeds" about the broader impact of their research and how it can be applied to help address compensation issues and problems in practice.
Scholars from Johns Hopkins University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and other major universities in the United States, Great Britain, China and Canada will attend, as will other Cornell and ILR faculty.
Prior to the invitation-only conference, participants are asked to read the eight papers that will be presented and, according to the conference website, "be prepared to engage actively in discussion with fellow emerging scholars from disciplines other than their own." Papers focus on timely compensation issues including the gender gap and pay, retirement income and pay secrecy.
Barrington says that it makes sense for ILR to serve as the conference host, since George Milkovich, an ILR professor emeritus, is regarded as a pioneer in compensation research. His book, Compensation, first published more than 25 years ago, is considered by many to have defined the field of compensation.
"ILR is the place where compensation as a field of study came into being," Barrington says. "Through events like this, and through the work of the Institute for Compensation Studies and its founder, ILR's Professor Kevin Hallock, we're building community and a global research network for a new generation of compensation scholars."
WorldatWork, a nonprofit human resources association for professionals and organizations worldwide focused on compensation, benefits, work-life effectiveness and total rewards, is the conference sponsor. Additional support is being provided by Cornell University's Institute for Social Science and ILR's Pierce Memorial Fund.
Learn more about ILR's Institute for Compensation Studies at http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/ICS.