Nov. 21, 2014 – As the U.S. economy continues to improve and monetary policy moves toward normalization, the David Eccles School of Business is pleased to partner with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco to host a simulation of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting. The event involves Eccles School students in the role of the committee members, including Reserve Bank Presidents, Federal Reserve Board Governors, and Chair Janet Yellen. Students will hear a presentation on the U.S. economy, discuss economic conditions around the country, and then vote to determine the level of the Fed’s key interest rate and the stance of monetary policy as they work to meet the Fed’s dual mandate of full employment and price stability.

The Fed University Symposium will be held Nov. 24 from 1 to 4:30 p.m. in the Bill & Pat Child Family Community Hall in the Spencer Fox Eccles Business Building on the University of Utah campus.

“The David Eccles School of Business has long-held strong ties to the Fed, with David Eccles’ son, Marriner Stoddard Eccles, hailed as the father of the Fed,” said Taylor Randall, dean of the David Eccles School of Business. “It’s fitting that we will hold the mock vote on interest rate policy in the restored First Security Bank Board Room, located in our business building, that Marriner Eccles returned to after serving in the Roosevelt administration. We are delighted to partner with the Fed on this Symposium and provide our students with this rich, close to real-life experience.”

In partnership with the Fed, the University Symposium will include remarks by Robin Rockwood, Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and branch manager of the Fed’s Salt Lake City operation.

This event is the culmination of a finance class on Federal Reserve Open Market Operations at the Eccles School. Students will showcase what they have learned and researched in this course in preparation for assuming the various roles at the Fed – bank presidents, Fed governors and staff. It provides students with real-life experience related to banking and monetary policy that will help them in the years to come.

The Symposium is sponsored by SF Fed senior representative Robin Rockwood, who oversees the Salt Lake City Branch board of directors and its contribution to monetary policy decisions. Rockwood joined the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco in 1992 as a bank officer and has held leadership positions in a variety of functions. She is a member of the International Women’s Forum, the Women’s Philanthropic Network of United Way Salt Lake City and serves on the board of governors of the Salt Lake City Chamber.

“Holding events like these is an incredible teaching tool for students to learn how the Federal Reserve actually functions and makes decisions,” said Rockwood. “Giving them hands-on experiences to engage with the material they learn in the classroom is an invaluable educational opportunity.”

Anyone in the community is welcome to attend this event, which will feature a presentation on the U.S. economy by Carrie Mayne, chief economist at the Utah Department of Workforce Services. Her presentation will be followed by the mock summit, which will include a deliberation and a vote by the students. The University Symposium will conclude with a mock news conference announcing the results of the vote in the First Security Board Room in the Spencer Fox Eccles Business Building.