Winter 2005
PEOPLE
Geneseo
Students Place Second in NYC Federal Reserve Competition
Competitors second to Rutgers by slim margin
A student team from SUNY Geneseo placed second in a competition held in
November for undergraduate business, finance and economics students sponsored
by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The competition was held in New
York City, and 20 colleges and universities from across the northeast
participated.
The College Fed Challenge is designed to help undergraduates become more
knowledgeable about the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the decision-making
process of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve’s
monetary policy-setting group.
In this competition for undergraduate business, finance and economics
students, each team made a 20-minute presentation in which it analyzed
current economic conditions and recommended an appropriate Fed policy
stance. The judging panel, made up of Wall Street economists and senior
New York Fed officials, then engaged the team in a 15-minute questions-and-answer
session after which the performance was scored.
The winners of the 2004 College Fed Challenge are: Rutgers, first place;
SUNY Geneseo, second place; Boston College, third place; SUNY Binghamton,
honorable mention. A Geneseo team finished third last year in the College’s
first time ever competing in the Challenge.
Participating team members from SUNY Geneseo were Mark Melcher
of Delmar, N.Y., Tim Jones of Stanfordville, N.Y., Carolyn Miller
of Loudonville, N.Y., Kristen Walker of Williamsville, N.Y., Sam
Chung of New Hyde Park, N.Y., Rob Boyd of Fairport, N.Y., and
Will Evans of Stanley, N.Y. All are economics students in Geneseo’s
Jones School of Business.
As a result of its placement Geneseo won a total of $11,000 from the Moody’s
Foundation, representing $3,500 for the students and $7,500 for the school.
Léonie Stone and Chris Annala, both economics professors
at Geneseo, were advisors to the team. Stone traveled with the team to
New York for the competition. Faculty members who sat in on practice presentations
included Mike Schinski, Nader Asgary and Anthony Gu.
"The level of competition in the Fed Challenge is incredibly high
and increasing every year," said Stone, assistant professor of economics
in the Jones School of Business at SUNY Geneseo. "It’s a remarkable
achievement to even place as one of the four finalists. We are extremely
proud of our exceptional students."
Jones School of Business Advisory Council member Kent Gardner, director
of Economic Analysis at the Center for Governmental Research in Rochester,
also helped the team prepare for the competition, along with Brian Imrich,
a Geneseo alumnus who was on last year’s team. Additional assistance
was provided by Richard Dietz of the Federal Reserve Bank of Buffalo and
by Robert Boyd, a vice president with HSBC bank in Rochester.
Students on the 20 participating teams were judged based on five criteria:
knowledge about the Federal Reserve’s role in developing and implementing
monetary policy; responses to judges’ questions; presentation skills;
quality of research and analysis; and evidence of teamwork and cooperation.
According to competition organizers, the College Fed Challenge is intended
to promote greater understanding of the Federal Reserve’s role in
developing and implementing monetary policy; greater interest in economics
and finance as a subject for advanced study and as the basis for a career;
research, presentation, critical thinking and cooperation skills; and
a closer relationship between colleges and the Federal Reserve Bank of
New York.
"This is a tremendous accomplishment and we are extremely proud of
the students on our Fed Reserve competition team," said Mary Ellen
Zuckerman, dean of the Jones School. "The team and their faculty
advisors have worked extremely hard all semester and their great performance
against some tough competition shows that this work paid off. I’m
sure this entire experience is one the students will remember their entire
lives!"
College teams participating in this year’s competition were from
New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The teams were: Barnard/Columbia,
Bloomfield, Boston College, Centenary, Cornell, Fairfield, Fordham, Marist,
Niagara, Northeastern, Nyack, NYU-Stern, Pace, Queensborough, Rutgers,
Sacred Heart, St. Francis, Seton Hall, SUNY Binghamton and SUNY Geneseo.