EMU Today

YPSILANTI – Two Eastern Michigan University professors, from the respective colleges of Business and Health and Human Services, are the second place winners of the 2019 Kenneth Black Jr. Author Award from the Journal of Financial Service Professionals.  

Lewis Hershey, a professor of marketing, and Annemarie Kelly, assistant professor of health administration, were selected by a panel of distinguished judges for their article titled “Using Roth Conversions of Legacy Retirement Plans to Fund Special Needs Planning.”  

The journal recognized Kelly and Hershey’s article as one of three original pieces that “advance scholarly research and the financial services field.”

Hershey and Kelly’s award-winning piece was published in March 2019. Their work provides new insight for converting Roth individual retirement accounts into an additional source of special needs funding. 

“This article explains how to best leverage legacy plans – individual retirement accounts with former employers – to help support individuals with disabilities,” said Hershey. 

Hershey and Kelly’s research identifies multiple advantages for people who implement Roth conversions as a special needs planning strategy.

For the past six years, the two have examined how individuals with disabilities and their families can engage in comprehensive planning to support short and long-term financial, healthcare, and wellness needs.

“This publication is the sixth in our ongoing series of articles for this inter-professional research stream,” Hershey said.

Kelly said, “We look forward to continuing with our work and collaboration in disability law and finance matters.”

Hershey and Kelly’s partnership was noted several years ago, when they earned the first place Kenneth Black Jr. Author Award for their 2017 article titled “Enabling ABLE: Five Potential Positives for Implementing the ABLE Act.” 

Hershey is the Department Head of the Department of Marketing in the EMU College of Business.  Kelly is an Assistant Professor in the EMU Department of Health Administration in the College of Health and Human Services.  Hershey can be reached at lhershe1@emich.edu.  Kelly can be reached at akelly30@emich.edu.

About Eastern Michigan University

Founded in 1849, EMU is the second oldest university in Michigan. It currently serves 20,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. In all, more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the University's Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Health and Human Services; Technology, and its graduate school. EMU is regularly recognized by national publications for its excellence, diversity, and commitment to applied education. For more information about EMU, visit the University’s website.