On Friday, February 26, Saint Xavier University’s Graham School of Management (GSM) hosted its 2nd Annual Economic Summit. The summit was held in Metropolitan Club’s East Room in the Willis Tower from 7:30 to 9:00am.
The Graham School of Management worked in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago to organize the event. The partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago started when Dr. Asghar Sabbaghi became the dean of the GSM.
At the event, a panel of experts discussed issues relating to recent economic and financial events and policies in the United States. This year’s summit centered on the theme of “Seeing Tomorrow,” so conversations focused on the implications that these issues will have on the future economy. The panelists held a question and answer session after they completed their presentations.
The panel and question and answer session were moderated by Dr. Monzurul Hoque, Professor of Finance at SXU and Chair of the Graham School’s Department of Economics and Finance.
In an interview with the Xavierite, Dr. Hoque explained that the purpose of the event is, not only to discuss economic issues, but also to increase the visibility of Saint Xavier University.
He believes that the summit is a great opportunity to bring attention to SXU’s Graham School of Management, which he calls “Chicago’s best kept secret.” “We are showcasing our network, we are showcasing our faculty, so that we become visible, people know us and that way we will have a synergy,” said Hoque.
The desire to increase the GSM’s visibility was the driving force behind the decision to host the event at the Willis Tower. “This is the brainchild of our dean, Dean Asghar Sabbaghi, so he brought this up to me because economists are the ones who should take the lead. Originally we thought that if we do it here, it may not be as visible as if we did it downtown, so we moved it to downtown,” said Hoque.
Both this year and last year’s economic summits received media attention from publications including The Beverly Review, The Chicago Tribune, and The Chicago Sun-Times. Hoque believes that this coverage demonstrates that these summits have successfully increased the GSM’s visibility.
“It is only our second year but I think that people are getting to know us,” said Hoque. According to Hoque the GSM had been planning this summit for almost a year. He explained that pulling off an event like this involves a lot of coordination and planning ahead.
“We went into action right after last year’s event. Because you have to get the place, and those places are booked years in advance, then you have to get in touch with the partners so the partners are willing to do the job, and then you have to prepare the panels and what they are going to talk about in a coordinated fashion,” said Hoque.
Some of the issues discussed at this year’s panel included the effect of the uncertainties in international economies on the real estate sectors and local economies, the “Great Recession” of 2008 and 2009, and the Euro/U.S. dollar exchange rate.
Panelists also analyzed snapshots of the latest data and upcoming market events concentrating on the U.S., the Midwest, and the Chicagoland area. The first panelist to present was William Strauss, senior economist at Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and professor at DePaul and the University of Chicago.
Strauss’s presentation focused on macro issues of the overall economy including unemployment, inflation, and the performance of the U.S. economy as a whole. The next speaker was Dr. Indranil Ghosh, SXU associate professor of Economics and Finance. Ghosh identified and assessed business cluster formations in the Chicagoland area.
He also discussed the synergy and productivity that these clusters promote. The final speaker was Dr. Song Wang, associate professor of finance at SXU. Wang assessed the economy from a macro level by focusing on public listed companies in Illinois.
He examined these companies’ involvement with global activities and compared them with companies on the national level. Approximately 80 guests registered for the summit including about 20 students from the Graham School of Management.
Attendees were required to purchase tickets for the summit, however some organizations purchased tickets for entire tables and allowed SXU students to fill those seats for free.
When asked what participants would gain from attending the event, Hoque explained that, for students, the summit is an opportunity to acquire an understanding about how the economy is analyzed.
Financial managers and other professionals in business, on the other hand, left the event with information and tips on building their portfolio based on current economic trends.
Dr. Indranil Ghosh told The Xavierite that he believes that this year’s summit was very successful. “In my opinion the Economic Summit was a great success. The audience was very engaged in the presentation and asked the speakers thought provoking questions regarding both the US economy and the local economy,” said Ghosh.
Dr. Hoque emphasized that efforts such as the Economic Summit are significant to SXU as a whole because of the importance of increasing the university’s visibility. He added that he hopes that these efforts will allow SXU’s GSM to become well-known as “a center for intellectual progress.”
Yasmeen Abdellatif
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