Optimistic Economic Forecast Highlights Southern Miss Forum
Fri, 01/27/2012 - 11:20am | By: Van Arnold
Jim Glassman, chief economist at JP Morgan, considers all the gloom, doom and dreary appraisals of the U.S. economy to be nothing more than pessimistic chatter.
His was a message of hope and faith as a guest lecturer during the 2nd Annual IMPACT Southern Miss: Turning Knowledge into Innovation Forum held Thursday, Jan. 26 at the Trent Lott Center on The University of Southern Mississippi campus.
“The tide is coming in,” said Glassman to a large audience that included representatives from the banking, finance and academic communities. “History has shown that we may stumble but we always come back. Human beings are resilient, and we always smell new opportunities and ways to reinvent ourselves.”
In fact, Glassman likened the present era of economic uncertainly to an earlier age that produced historic change.
“Fifty years from now people will be writing about this period much like they did during the Renaissance. And we're all a part of it,” said Glassman. “A lot of growth in the next decade will come from ideas being generated right now. And ideas that come from a university system like Southern Miss will lead to useful products for communities everywhere.”
In addition to Glassman, other guest speakers included: Dr. Lance Nail, dean of the College of Business at Southern Miss; Jeff Finkle, president & CEO of the International Economic Development Council; Dr. Jeffrey Wiggins, associate professor in the School of Polymers and High Performance Materials at Southern Miss and Rick Wehmer from GE Aviation.
Rick Duke, director of the Trent Lott Center, said the large turnout was a testament to the university's role in economic development and innovation.
“This is our second year to host the event and we had approximately 160 people in attendance,” said Duke. “Our goal from the outset has been to provide a forum that included discussion about all aspects of our local, regional and national economy. At Southern Miss and the Trent Lott Center, an important part of our mission is to create an environment for innovation that will spur economic growth and prosperity.”
For more information about the Trent Lott Center, call 601.266.5090 or visit: https://www.usm.edu/trent-lott-national-center.