NASI Announces $50,000 Grant from Teresa and John Heinz Fund

Monies will support John Heinz Dissertation Award

WASHINGTON, DC—The National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) is pleased to announce that it is the recipient of a $50,000 grant from the Heinz Family Philanthropies. Funds will be used to support NASI’s John Heinz Dissertation Award, which is celebrating its seventeenth year. Since inception, the dissertation award has been bestowed on thirty-four scholars for their work in social insurance policy.

“The NASI Senator John Heinz Dissertation Award helps identify new leaders and thinkers in social policy and retirement security. Each winner has demonstrated many of the qualities that embody of the spirit of Senator Heinz, most importantly intellectual curiosity, a willingness to challenge the status quo and thinking way outside the box,” said Jeffrey Lewis, President of the Foundation. “We are proud of the Heinz/NASI partnership, and honored each year by the incredible dissertation award winners.”

The 2009 Dissertation Award will be presented at NASI’s Annual conference on January 29, 2009. Any dissertation addressing topics relevant to the planning and implementation of social insurance policy is eligible for nomination. This might include analysis of long-term care financing, the labor market effects of Social Security, cross-national comparisons and family social insurance protections. For their outstanding doctoral dissertation in the field of social insurance, the winner will receive a $2,500 honorarium along with the opportunity to participate with expenses paid in the annual meeting.

The 2009 awards committee is comprised of experts in the social insurance field, including: Robert Hudson, Boston University (Chair of the award committee); Christine Bishop, Brandeis University; Rashi Fein, Harvard Medical School; and James Morone, Brown University.

The John Heinz Dissertation Award is issued in honor of Senator John Heinz. As a member of the Senate Finance Committee, he helped chart the Social Security rescue effort in 1983 and worked tirelessly to insulate the Social Security Trust Funds from the rest of the Federal Budget. John Heinz was a leading expert in the Senate on private pensions and health care and aging policy. He was a member of the Academy’s Board of Advisors from the organization’s inception in 1986.

For more information regarding the Heinz Dissertation Award or to obtain application forms visit the “Student Opportunities” section of NASI’s website at www.nasi.org or contact Pamela Larson at (202) 452-8097, or by email at plarson@nasi.org.

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The National Academy of Social Insurance is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization made up of the nation’s leading experts on social insurance. Its mission is to promote understanding and informed policymaking on social insurance and related programs through research, public education training, and the open exchange of ideas.