Empire State University Professor and His Children Collaborate as a Research Team

(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - June 13, 2023) Empire State University Professor Alan Belasen gave “bring your child to work day” a whole new meaning by assembling his adult children to collaborate on a research project, and that’s no (dad) joke. 

Belasen and three of his five children, Abigail, Ari and Anat, took part in his 2020-21 research project “A win-win for health care: Promoting co-leadership and increasing women’s representation at the top”, Gender in Management: An International Journal. 

Abigail, Ari, and Anat are professors and prolific researchers in the fields of medicine, economics, and conservation biology respectively. The family used their collective specializations to find pathways for promoting women’s representation in leadership roles in healthcare settings. Their interests joined at the common goal of embracing equity and access in research, healthcare, governance, and breaking down barriers for women. 

“It was a process of creative tension through discovery and dialogue for identifying solutions to shared concerns and challenges,” Alan said. “Since I have published several books on women in management and healthcare leadership, it was natural for the four of us to combine our concentrated brainpower.” 

Coming from different disciplines, each family member was able to provide a unique contribution to the research project. Through Anat’s community relationship building and advocacy work, she is active in helping improve equity and access in STEM. Ari and Alan were recently engaged in research involving the uneven outcomes of COVID-19 on racial and ethnic groups, and Abby is interested in physician leadership and in increasing the participation of women leaders in healthcare. They combined their strengths and complementary skills in writing the various drafts and later in responding to the reviewers. 

“And we were quite efficient in our exchanges and conversations.” Alan said. Unlike other professionals or researchers with formal lines of communication, accessing each other was not an issue.” 

Alan is considering bringing his other two daughters, Amy and Amanda, to the mix for writing a book on communication across disciplines.  

Amanda studied organizational communication at University at Albany and Amy is the president and founder of ABD Creative, a principal-led hospitality marketing firm that specializes in B2C marketing for hotels and restaurants. 

The book will have introductory and concluding chapters on communication roles and skills in and around organizations (Alan); communication at times of disruption (Amy); transitional care communication (Abby); communicating science to honor diverse contributions (Anat); trust in communication (Ari); and improving workplace communication (Amanda). 

This will also be Alan’s 10th book, and a celebration point for Alan and his five children to honor their mom and his wife Susan Belasen. 

“By far, the best part is working collaboratively as a research team,” Alan said. “Despite all our collective work, our family dinner conversations are very light-hearted.”  

When not hitting the books, the Belasen family enjoys playing pickleball together at a nearby park in Alan’s small hometown in Albany, New York.