Minneapolis Federal Reserve bank president conducts Q/A with UMD Business and Economics students
LSBE students Tyler Hendrickson and Randy wilson listen to Pres. Kashkari intently. Photo by Connor Shea
Recently the Labovitz School of Business and Economics hosted Neel Kashkari, who has been president of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve branch since 2015.
The Federal Reserve, our nation’s central banking system, is primarily in charge of raising and lowering interest rates and keeping our economy stable.
Kashkari was eager to give students a better understanding of how the system works.
“I hope that they learn more about what the federal reserve does, I believe most Americans think of it as a mysterious institution,” Kashkari said. “I’m here to share with them what we at the Fed do, as well as hear what they have to say and learn from them.”
Kashkari was also delighted at the opportunity to tell students of his unique career path, which has had stops at Goldman Sachs, The Treasury Department, as well as designing a critical component for a NASA space telescope.
LSBE Dean Amy Hietapelto observes Pres. Kashkari during his recent Q/A forum in Montague Hall. Photo by Connor Shea
“I really enjoy meeting with students because they are at the beginning of their careers,” Kashkari said. “My career has experienced a lot of change, and I believe there is no one career path that is right, so if they find that interesting hopefully they can learn from the decisions that I’ve made.”
The Minneapolis Federal Reserve branch is headquarters for Federal Reserve district 9, which oversees Montana, the Dakotas, Northwestern Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
“I love the cold, and there’s a very high quality of life in Minnesota,” Kashkari said. “We have a strong, diverse economy overall and a pretty educated population, and this makes Minnesota a great state to live in.”
There are some challenges the land of 10,000 lakes has to face according to Kashkari.
“We also have some financial disparities that are challenging our economy, disparities that we at the Minneapolis Fed are doing research on and trying to solve,” Kashkari said.
LSBE professor Ariuna Taivan was excited to have Pres. Kashkari able to engage with her students.
“This was an exclusive forum for LSBE students to meet President Kashkari, giving our students an opportunity to learn from an individual who has an amazing amount of experience with the practices I teach,” said Tivan.
Senior Samir Bushra asks Pres. Kashkari a question during his visit to UMD. Photo by Connor Shea
LSBE Senior Samir Bushra was really impressed with the way the event turned out.
“This event was just fantastic, I really appreciate him taking the time out of his day to answer all of our questions in an honest, informative manner,” Bushra said.
Busra didn’t leave the event empty handed.
“I was happy to learn new things today, including more about career paths and how interest rates work and are set,” Bushra said. “It was so great to hear from such an established individual.”