Kaye Husbands Fealing, chair of the School of Public Policy, presented at the Federal Reserve Board’s National Summit on Diversity in the Economics Profession in Washington, D.C., on October 20, 2014.

The conference brought together leaders of the Federal Reserve Banks and chairs of economics departments from schools across the nation for a profession-wide dialogue about diversity. Speakers and panelists discussed the state of diversity in economics and examples of successful diversity initiatives in academia.

During a panel on initiatives in higher education, Husbands Fealing spoke about the science of broadening participation in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

A primary goal of the summit is to provide an opportunity for learning, discussion, and sharing among faculty peers to develop practical ideas about what can be accomplished in the economics profession.

Conference Chair Janet Yellen said in her welcoming remarks, “We know that diversity is fundamentally important in spreading risk. History shows that economies develop and become more stable through diversification. Often, in the things economists study and the methods we use, diversity is a good thing.”

Kaye Husbands Fealing is an economist who came to the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts from the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota in Fall 2014. During the course of her career, she has built a distinguished record of achievements in scholarship and education, as well as in national and international leadership and service. Her areas of expertise include international trade policy; science, technology, and innovation policy in specific contexts; knowledge generation and the development of networks.