New Study to Focus on Innovative Approaches to Pension Reform in Higher Education

Growing concerns about the long-term fiscal prospects for college and university retirement and benefit programs will be addressed in a study sponsored by the Center for Studies in  Higher Education (CSHE) at the University of California, Berkeley.
With support from Fidelity Investments,  the Higher Education Pension Reform Project will  document major changes to retirement and post-retirement benefit programs that US colleges and universities have adopted in recent years.  The review will look at how programs are funded; the kinds  of programs and benefits offered (such as defined benefit or defined contribution programs); and whether retirement programs that offer health benefits fund them through contributions by employers, employees, or both. The project  will also examine how various programs are governed and administered.
The principal investigator for the project is James A. Hyatt, Senior Research Associate at CSHE and Interim Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the University of Arizona. He has also served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Virginia Polytechnic and State University, as Vice Chancellor for Budget and Finance and Chief Financial Officer for the University of California, Berkeley, and as the Interim Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO). More...