Alicia Munnell to step down as Center for Retirement Research Director – Center for Retirement Research

Deputy Director of Recruitment, Supported by a Veterans Research Team

Alicia H. Munnell, founding director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College (CRR), announced that she will step down on December 31, after more than two decades at the helm.

Munnell, who holds the Peter F. Drucker Chair in Management Sciences at the Carroll School of Management, is recognized as one of the country’s most influential experts on retirement income policy. Before coming to Boston College, he served as a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy. Previously, he spent 20 years at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, where he was senior vice president and director of research. He will remain with CRR as a senior advisor.

Deputy Director Andrew Eschtruth, who has been with the organization since its inception, will be the next director of CRR, supported by senior researchers Jean-Pierre Aubry, Anqi Chen, Laura Quinby and Gal Wettstein.

Established in 1998, CRR produces summaries of academic and primary research to assist decision makers in both the public and private sectors on the critical issue of retirement security – a topic of increasing importance to the aging population. In addition, the Institute trains new scholars in the field and expands access to important data sources.

Provost and Dean of Academics David Quigley thanked Munnell for his contributions to the field of retirement research and building a nationally recognized research center at Boston College.

“Alicia Munnell is a respected economist whose scholarship has had a profound and lasting impact on strengthening the US retirement system and domestic financial security throughout her career in government and during her last term here at Boston College,” said Quigley. “He came to Chestnut Hill with a positive vision for his new institution and went on to build CRR into the leading retirement policy research center in the nation. His legacy includes the exceptional team he created to advance the CRR mission, and his mentoring of a generation of scholars around the world who are refining our understanding of the economics of aging, retirement, and lifelong financial health.”

Munnell praised the University for its support of the Center over the past two decades.

“The success of the Center can be directly traced to the great support of Boston College, which has been with us all along. BC, with its commitment to both scholarship and service, is an ideal place for policy research. “

Importantly, Munnell has positioned CRR for the future by attracting talented individuals interested in the Center’s work.

Eschtruth brings a wealth of practical knowledge and organizational experience from working at CRR for 25 years, helping it grow from a small startup to a nationally recognized institution. He has extensive experience managing donor and media relations, as well as deep insight from his years as a policy analyst in the federal government focusing on the challenges posed by aging populations.

The members of the senior research team – who, on average, have been with CRR for more than ten years – are all prominent voices in their fields of expertise. Aubry leads CRR’s regional and local policy research unit, while Chen leads CRR’s savings and household finance practice. Quinby is a key figure in employee benefits and labor market studies and Wettstein leads efforts in health, health care finance, and insurance issues. This group will bear additional responsibilities in shaping the Institute’s research program, expanding development activities, and mentoring junior researchers.

“CRR is in good hands.” Munnell said. “I hope it will continue to thrive for decades to come.”