The 22nd annual event welcomed 125 prominent business leaders and guests, and received coverage from the Wall Street Journal. 

What is the immediate and long-term future of the U.S. economy? When will inflation end? 

The keynote speaker at La Salle University’s Economic Outlook addressed these questions and more. Patrick T. Harker, Ph.D., the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, shared his expertise in these arenas with more than 125 attendees at the 22nd annual installment of the University’s Economic Outlook, held Feb. 14 at the Union League of Philadelphia. 

La Salle students and faculty, as well as some of the city’s top business leaders and innovators, were among those in attendance. 

La Salle President Daniel J. Allen, Ph.D., in his welcoming remarks, spoke about the economic impact created by La Salle, a university that sends two out of every three of its graduates into the Philadelphia workforce after earning their degrees—one with a lifetime return on investment that ranks in the top-7% nationally. La Salle also is home to the nation’s top job-placement rate for MBA graduates and ranks with the best in the country among those considered national universities in U.S. News & World Report’s most recent Best Colleges survey. 

“If you want to make an investment in the economic vitality of the tri-state region, make an investment in La Salle University and our students,” President Allen said to attendees, “because a not insignificant percentage of our students come from the tri-state region, and nearly 70% of them stay here to work, raise their families, and volunteer in their communities. I think if all the La Salle alums in Philadelphia who are lawyers, accountants, judges, nurses, teachers, and government leaders, decided to take a day off, the city would grind to a halt.” 

Before delving into his prepared remarks, Harker encouraged La Salle’s students in the room to consider seeking internship opportunities available through the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and encouraged them to apply. 

Harker, the keynote at La Salle’s 2017 Economic Outlook, as well, mentioned the Federal Reserve’s commitment to returning inflation to 2%. 

“Since March last year, we raised the target range for the federal funds rate from zero to between 4.5 percent and 4.75 percent,” Harker said. “That is a significant move, and a very fast one, with the FOMC raising rates 75 basis points at several meetings, but rates are now at a level that allow us to slow down and proceed cautiously and, to my mind, the days of us raising 75 basis points at a time have surely passed.” 

“Attending the Economic Outlook this year was a valuable off-campus learning opportunity, said Isabella Straface, ’23, an Abington, Pa., native who is enrolled in La Salle’s four-year BS/MBA program. “As I begin my professional journey, I believe it is important to have exposure to these types of events and conversations. Listening to Dr. Harker share his expertise regarding the Fed and the current economy was very insightful.” 

La Salle’s Economic Outlook began in 2002. Since then, the University has welcomed an impressive list of distinguished speakers to share their thoughts and expertise on various topics of finance, business, and government. 

Read the Wall Street Journal’s coverage of the most-recent installment of the Economic Outlook. 

—Christopher A. Vito