SUNY New Paltz will welcome William Dudley, the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, to campus on Thursday, May 19.
During his visit, Dudley will be giving a speech entitled, “The US Economic Outlook – Where Are We Headed.” In his speech, Dudley will address the current and future state of both the national and regional economies.
The event is being sponsored by the Center for Research Regional Education and Outreach (CRREO). CRREO has teamed up with the School of Business, the Department of Economics and the Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress and the Federal Reserve Board.
CRREO Director Gerald Benjamin expressed his excitement for Dudley’s trip to campus.
“Mr. Dudley is a big part of the Federal Bank system,” said Benjamin. “…He’s coming to talk about the bank and give his assessment on the regional economy. We have a long-standing business relationship with the bank and we have hosted events with them before.”
Previously, Dudley served as chief economist for Goldman Sachs and oversaw the department that was in charge of buying and selling government securities. Dudley was appointed to the position of president in 2009. Benjamin said that Dudley is someone held in high regards on both the national and international levels. Benjamin also said that Dudley would not be discussing issues that would pertain to the budget crisis that the school is facing.
“He’s a person of national and international prominence in policy making,” said Benjamin. “His current position was…held by the secretary of the treasury of the United States, so his perspective is on the national and international economies. Of course the condition of those economies…bears an indirect relationship on the regional economy, but school budget issues will not be brought up.”
The speech will be held on May 19, which is the last day of final examinations for students. This raises concern from some students, who are deterred by the fact that such a prominent speaker will be coming to campus not only on the last day of the semester, but at a time when their main focus is returning home for the summer.
“It’s disappointing,” said first-year student Rosalie Rodriguez. “This is the president of the Federal Reserve for the state and what he has to say is important for us. I might have gone if it were earlier, but at that time all I’ll be thinking about is going home for the summer.”
Benjamin said CRREO understands the concern, but valued Dudley’s presence first and foremost.
“Well, I understand that concern and I was mindful of it, but we had to book it when the president of a bank like Mr. Dudley could come and he only had a limited number of dates so our choice was to have him here on that date as opposed to not having him here at all,” said Benjamin. “Having him here is a service to the campus and regional community.”
Despite the fact that the late date may limit student turn-out, Benjamin said that he thinks many members of the community will go and that students should still come out for the “rare” event.
“I hope and expect students to come, we’re reserving seats for students at no cost. Even though we expect a lot of community people to come, we’re saving seats for students,” said Benjamin. “We encourage students to come because this is a rare opportunity to meet someone of this prominence.”
The event will be held in the Student Union Multipurpose room and registration for the event will begin at 8 a.m. on Thursday, May 19.