The session, titled “Economic Update: Addressing the Financial Crisis,” is open to the entire university community.

“No serious economist that we’re aware of expects a downturn anything like the Great Depression, but if you’re feeling concerned about the economy, you should be. If you’re not yet concerned, it’s time to start paying attention,” said Steve Henson, director of WCU graduate programs in business. “Our current crisis is quite different from most of the economic downturns we’ve weathered in the past, and the correction and rebound may be painful and lengthy.”

Johnson, who came to WCU after holding positions with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the International Monetary Fund, will lead a session designed to help attendees separate fact from fiction, recognize the difference between rumor and truth, and avoid making uninformed decisions, Henson said.

The presentation will address the factors that led to the current situation, what the government is doing in response, what will happen next, and what people should do in response to the crisis.

Other schedule speakers include Henson; Louis Buck, WCU’s Elingburg Distinguished Professor of Business Innovation; and Tilt Thompkins, professor of finance who has experience in the areas of risk pricing, risk management and asset valuation.

To help prepare for the session, faculty members planning to have their classes attend are asked to notify the College of Business with an estimate of the number of students expected to take part.

For information, contact Steve Henson at (828) 227-3227 or shenson@wcu.edu.

Maintained by the Office of Public Relations
Last Modified: Monday, Sept. 29, 2008