The annual Georgia Economic Outlook luncheon, hosted by the Terry College of Business on Dec. 15, will feature two speakers delivering state and national economic forecasts.
Robert T. Sumichrast, dean of the Terry College’s since 2007, will deliver the Georgia forecast. He holds the Simon S. Selig Jr. Chair for Economic Growth.
Sumichrast previously served for four years as dean of the E. J. Ourso College of Business at Louisiana State University and was a faculty member for 19 years at the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech, where he began his academic career as an assistant professor in 1984. At Virginia Tech, he was the associate dean for graduate and international programs from 1998 to 2003.
David A. Wyss will deliver the national forecast. Wyss is the chief economist at Standard & Poor’s, where he is responsible for S&P’s economic forecasts and publications.
Wyss co-authors the monthly Equity Insight and the weekly Financial Notes and serves on the board of the National Association for Business Economics. He has served as S&P’s chief economist since 1992. Prior to that, he was a senior staff economist with the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Board and an economic adviser to the Bank of England. He is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and earned a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University.
Wyss previously appeared at the Georgia Economic Outlook in December 2007.
Billed as the state’s premier economic forecasting event, the kickoff luncheon in Atlanta draws more than 1,000 of the state’s top business and governmental leaders to the Georgia World Congress Center for a detailed look into next year’s economic prospects. UGA President Michael F. Adams will emcee the program, which begins at noon, and Gov. Sonny Perdue will provide the opening remarks.
Following the Atlanta kickoff, the Economic Outlook series goes on tour around the state, stopping in Savannah (Jan. 14), Augusta (Jan. 15), Macon
(Jan. 19), Albany (Jan. 21), Columbus (Jan. 22), Dalton (Jan. 26), Swainsboro (Jan. 28), St. Simons Island (Jan. 29) and Athens (March 3).
In Atlanta, registration fees are $80 per person, $640 for a table for eight guests or $1,500 for a priority table for eight guests. Fees include refreshments, lunch and Georgia Economic Outlook publications. Online registration is available at eol.terry.uga.edu. For more information, contact Elizabeth Bohler at (706) 425-3280 or ebohler@terry.uga.edu.