For Immediate Release

March 6, 2007

Ronald Mincy Joins Advisory Board of The Economic Mobility Project
New Initiative Explores Economic Mobility of Americans

New York, NY – Dr. Ronald Mincy, the Maurice V. Russell Professor of Social Policy and Social Work Practice at the Columbia University School of Social Work, has joined the advisory board of The Economic Mobility Project of The Pew Charitable Trusts.  The new initiative was launched to forge consensus across the political spectrum about the extent to which Americans can move up the economic ladder in their lifetimes and from one generation to the next.

While 80 percent of Americans believe that it is possible to start out poor, work hard, and become rich, 54 percent think that the American Dream has become impossible for most people to achieve.  The Economic Mobility Project draws on the expertise of leaders at four leading policy institutes – American Enterprise Institute, The Brookings Institution, The Heritage Foundation, and the Urban Institute - to expand public knowledge about the ability of Americans to work hard, progress economically and establish a safe and secure life for their families.  Through research and dialogue, the nonpartisan project will provide objective information about the status of U.S. economic mobility as well as address factors like income and education that influence one's economic prospects.

Other members of the advisory board include nationally-recognized economists, social scientists, and policy experts from Harvard University, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Princeton University, Syracuse University, University of Michigan, and the Russell Sage Foundation.  For more information, please visit http://www.economicmobility.org or contact Jeannie Hii at 212-851-2327 or [email protected].

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About CUSSW (www.socialwork.columbia.edu)
For more than 100 years, the Columbia University School of Social Work has been the leader in practice and policy. Located in New York City, the School offers Master’s and Doctoral programs which are nationally and internationally recognized for their excellence. With its signature curriculum that encompasses multidimensional academic coursework and a far-reaching field education experience, CUSSW continues to be at the forefront of clinical practice, social policy, and social enterprise administration education, teaching, research and social work innovation in the 21st Century.

About Ronald B. Mincy
Dr. Mincy formerly served at the Ford Foundation in several programmatic positions related to the treatment of low-income fathers by U.S. welfare, child support, and family support systems. He previously taught in the economics departments at Purdue University, Bentley College, the University of Delaware, and Swarthmore College, and also worked at the U.S. Department of Labor and the Urban Institute. He is a former co-chair of the Grantmakers Income Security Taskforce and is a Board Member of the Grantmakers for Children, Youth, and Families.  He recently published Black Males Left Behind. (Urban Institute Press)