The University of Southern Indiana will present “A Conversation with Ben Bernanke,” former chairman of the Federal Reserve, at 6 p.m. Monday, March 23, 2015, at the Physical Activities Center (PAC). Dr. Ben S. Bernanke will be the second speaker in the University’s Romain College of Business Innovative Speaker Series. The inaugural speaker was T. Boone Pickens, legendary entrepreneur and philanthropist, who spoke in spring 2013. The event is free and open to the public, and is part of a year of events planned for USI’s 50th anniversary in 2015.

As chairman of the Federal Reserve System under two presidents—George W. Bush and Barack Obama—Bernanke was front and center during a tumultuous period of economic history. As chairman, he faced some of the most critical economic and financial challenges since the Great Depression, helping to lead the government’s response to the 2008-2009 financial crisis and subsequent recession.

Bernanke is a Distinguished Fellow in Residence at the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institute. From February 2006 through January 2014, he was chairman of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System. He also served as chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee, the system’s principal monetary policymaking body.

Before his appointment as chairman, Bernanke was chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, from June 2005 to January 2006, at which time he had already served the Federal Reserve System in several roles. He was a member of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System from 2002 to 2005.

From 1994 to 1996, Bernanke was the Class of 1926 Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University. He was the Howard Harrison and Gabrielle Snyder Beck Professor of Economics and Public Affairs and chair of the Economics Department at the university from 1996 to 2002. He had been a professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton since 1985.

Before arriving at Princeton, Bernanke was an associate professor of economics (1983-85) and an assistant professor of economics (1979-83) at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. His teaching career also included serving as a visiting professor of economics at New York University (1993) and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1989-90).

Bernanke has published numerous articles on a wide variety of economic issues, including monetary policy and macroeconomics, and is the author of several scholarly books and two textbooks. He has held a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Sloan Fellowship, and is a Fellow of the Econometric Society and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He served as the director of the Monetary Economics Program of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and as a member of the NBER’s Business Cycle Dating Committee. In July 2001, he was appointed editor of the American Economic Review. His work with civic and professional groups includes having served two terms as a member of the Montgomery Township (New Jersey) Board of Education.

Bernanke was born in December 1953 in Augusta, Georgia, and grew up in Dillon, South Carolina. He received a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1975 from Harvard University (summa cum laude) and a doctorate in economics in 1979 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“A Conversation with Ben Bernanke” is sponsored by the USI Romain College of Business and the USI Foundation.

Downtown Alliance collaborates on new, city-wide event.

A half-mile display of candle-lit luminaria will guide visitors through downtown Evansville this Saturday evening from 5 to 8 p.m. during a new event. ‘A Downtown Christmas,’ is part of a new day-long series of events woven together under the name ‘Holly Jolly Holiday.’ Other components of the festivities include: ‘A Dickens Christmas on Franklin;’ Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights in support of the Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center; Evansville Ballet Theatre’s presentation of the Nutcracker with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra at the historic Victory Theatre; and, candle-lit tours of the Victorian Christmas at The Reitz Home Museum.

A Downtown Christmas features entertainment in Kempf Family Park on the corner of Fourth and Main Streets, including a DJ, choral music, and a hand-bell choir. Santa and Mrs. Clause will chat with young visitors, and free hot chocolate will be served as well. The half-mile luminaria display will guide attendees to a collection of pop-up shops, downtown stores and downtown restaurants. The luminaria will be placed on Main, from Second to Sixth Streets, and on Fourth and Fifth Streets leading to other venues including the Children’s Museum of Evansville which will be open until 8 p.m. for the event.

Horse-drawn carriage rides ($5) can shuttle riders to the Reitz Home and back if desired.

In addition to the picturesque downtown atmosphere, a number of pop-up shops will be participating. In the 420 Main building these include: A Single Thread boutique; Emily Gartner for artistic fabrics and fashions; Old North Fair Trade shop; Evansville Ballet Theater presents a Nutcracker boutique; 19Nine from Indianapolis featuring their vintage-style t-shirts and sweats; Made in Evansville with unique logoed items; Uncharted International with handmade goods from Myanmar ; and, LiveWell/Flex 151 from Newburgh with gift cards, gift memberships and other items. Longfellow’s Barbeque will host a pop-up shop in the lobby of 318 Main, next to the Arts Council.

About Southwest Indiana Chamber

For nearly a century, the Southwest Indiana Chamber has been a trusted ally of the regional business community. Today, we’re one of the state’s largest, strongest, and most impactful nonprofit business organizations, representing a total membership of nearly 1,700 businesses, organizations, and agencies. About one-third of members have invested in our organization for 10 or more years. While nearly all major employers in our region are members of the Southwest Indiana Chamber, 71% of our members have fewer than 25 employees.

Learn more about the Chamber, our members, and the Southwest Indiana regional community at www.swinchamber.com.

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