Dr. David Weil has been appointed to the Samuel F. and Rose B. Gingold Chair in Human Development. This position was originally established in 1973 by Rose Gingold for faculty teaching or researching any field of human development. Weil served as the Dean of the Heller School from 2017-2022 and is currently a professor at Heller and the Department of Economics. He was appointed by President Barack Obama to be the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor. Widely sought in the U.S. and abroad as an advisor on public policy, Weil’s areas of expertise include employment and labor market policy; regulation; transparency policy; and the impacts of industry restructuring on employment and work outcomes and business performance.
A recent example of his research is an October 2025 report by Weil and colleagues offering the first direct, large-scale comparison of working conditions for drivers and fulfillment employees at Amazon, UPS and FedEx. The report’s findings reveal stark disparities and indicate how Amazon’s gig-like approach is changing industry standards, putting downward pressure on wages, benefits and job stability across the delivery sector—impacting not only their workers, but also the broader U.S. labor market. As noted by the nominating committee, Dr. Weil’s “focus on labor policy and its implications for individuals, families and communities aligns perfectly with the chair’s mission to advance the study of human development. His research moves beyond the abstract to directly connect labor policy with tangible outcomes for workers, providing a robust framework for addressing systemic inequalities.”
Rajan Sonik, PhD’17, has been appointed the Sol C. Chaikin Associate Research Professor of National Health Policy. This position, held by Stuart Altman until his retirement, was created in 1983. Funding for the chair was raised in honor of Chaikin, a leading figure in the American labor movement known for his lifelong dedication to human rights, international affairs and the quality of education and health care. The establishment of this chair recognized the University’s commitment to excellence in health policy education, training and research, as well as ensuring the relevancy of its work to policymakers and, most importantly, the individuals directly impacted by these decisions.
An Associate Research Professor within the Institute on Healthcare Systems since 2023, Sonik’s research examines how macro- and micro-level interventions to address the social determinants of health affect health care outcomes, with a special focus on disparities by race, ethnicity and disability status. His background as a legal services attorney providing pro bono advocacy for low-income children with sickle cell disease facing discrimination in multiple settings informs his understanding of how the social policies he studies affect health and health care systems. Currently, Sonik is leading three ongoing research studies funded by the National Institutes of Health that examine how social policies operate to influence health care outcomes and disparities. His previous research on the impacts of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits on Medicaid costs and use in Massachusetts was cited in a recent amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court.