2016 Economic Outlook Conference

Ohio Wesleyan’s annual Economic Outlook Conference, featuring a panel of experts discussing their forecasts for the local, national, and international economies, in the Benes Rooms of Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, 40 Rowland Ave., Delaware. The conference is co-sponsored by the Department of Economics and by The Woltemade Center for Economics, Business and Entrepreneurship. Each expert will speak for 15 minutes and then respond to questions and comments from the audience and from panel moderator, OWU faculty member Goran Skosples. This year's panelists are:

• Ben Ayers, M.S., is a senior economist for Nationwide Economics. He works to support the company’s macro-consumer analytics and macroeconomic analysis functions. His responsibilities include understanding and analyzing the enterprise business drivers to assist the strategic planning process. Ayers holds a master’s degree in economics from The Ohio State University, specializing in applied economic analysis.
• George Mokrzan, Ph.D., is the director of economics at The Huntington Trust and Huntington National Bank. He provides economic analysis and commentary to management and clients, giving them insight into the global economy and into the local economies served by Huntington. Mokrzan earned his doctorate in economics from Duke University, with a specialization in macroeconomics, international economics, and econometrics.
• Mark Schweitzer, Ph.D., is the senior vice president of external outreach and regional analytics at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. He oversees the bank’s public outreach activities and analysis of regional economic conditions. Schweitzer advises and informs the Cleveland Reserve Bank president and directors on regional economic developments and economic policy issues. His research focuses on the macroeconomic impact of the labor market and the identification of factors contributing to regional economic growth. Schweitzer earned his doctorate in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles. 

Skosples, panel moderator, joined the Ohio Wesleyan faculty in 2006. His teaching focus includes economics of transition, macroeconomics, development economics, international economics, research methods and economic principles. His research deals with institutional changes in post-communist countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, banking and credit, and small business finance. He earned his doctoral degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Call (740) 368-3545 or visit www.owu.edu/economics or www.owu.edu/woltemade for more information. Admission is free.