FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas will host a panel of nationally recognized economists for its 12th annual Business Forecast luncheon on Friday, Jan. 27, 2006. The event will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Northwest Arkansas Convention Center in Springdale, Ark.

The panelists include:

• Moderator: Thomas F. “Mack” McLarty III, president, Kissinger McLarty Associates;
• International Economy: James E. Glassman, managing director and senior policy strategist, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.;
• National Economy: Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, director and chief economist, Ford Motor Co. corporate economics group; and
• State and Local Economy: Jeff Collins, director, Center for Business and Economic Research, Walton College.

 “Once again, the Walton College is fortunate to have an extraordinary panel of economists agree to share their forecast for the coming year,” said Walton College Dean Dan Worrell. “We believe the opportunity to hear the unique perspective offered by these accomplished individuals provides tremendous value to business and civic leaders from Northwest Arkansas and the state.”

Worrell added, “This event is part of the outreach activities of the Walton College through the Center for Business and Economic Research. We especially want to acknowledge the generous support of our sponsors who make this event possible. Last year’s luncheon was the most successful to date with more than 1,100 in attendance, a number we expect to surpass this year.”

The sponsors to date for the 2006 Business Forecast luncheon include: Arvest Bank Group; Cooper Communities Inc.; First Security Bank/Crews and Associates; Gaddy Investment Co.; George’s Inc.; Greenwood and Associates Inc.; Dan and Jodi Grubb; Legacy National Bank; Liberty Bank of Arkansas; McKee Foods Corp.; Rebsamen Insurance Inc.; Regions Bank; Southwestern Energy Co. and Arkansas Western Gas Co.; Southwest Electric Power Co.; Charles Schwab & Co.; Tyson Foods Inc.; and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Mack McLarty also serves as a senior adviser of the Carlyle Private Equity Group and as chairman of Randall and Dewey, a leading global energy industry advisory firm. In addition, he continues to lead the McLarty Companies and most recently formed the partnership, McLarty-Landers Automotive Group. He served former President Clinton as chief of staff, counselor to the president and special envoy for the Americas. A native of Hope, Ark., he holds a bachelor’s degree from the Walton College.

Ellen Hughes-Cromwick is responsible for global economic and automotive industry forecasts to support strategy, finance, and planning. She was a senior economist at Mellon Bank from 1990-96 and an assistant professor of economics at Trinity College in the late 1980s. She served as a staff economist on President Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers. She received a bachelor's degree in government and French language at the University of Notre Dame and a master's degree in international development and a doctoral degree in economics from Clark University in Massachusetts. She was recently appointed to the Congressional Budget Office Panel of Economic Advisers. She is a member of the National Association for Business Economics and the Conference of Business Economists.

James E. Glassman works closely with the firm’s global treasury and capital markets groups and as an adviser for the firm’s key corporate relations. He publishes independent research on the principal forces shaping global financial markets. His views are widely cited in the financial media where he is a frequent commentator on economic policy issues. From 1979 through 1999, he served in Research and Statistics and Monetary Affairs Divisions at the Federal Reserve Board. He joined Morgan Guaranty in 1988 and Chemical Bank in 1993, which, through mergers with Chase Manhattan, JPMorgan, and most recently Bank One, is called J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and a doctoral degree in economics from Northwestern University.

Jeff Collins has served as director of the Walton College's Center for Business and Economic Research since 1999. He oversees applied economic research as part of the college’s outreach mission. Recent studies have been conducted for the city of Fayetteville, Arvest Bank Group, and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Further, Collins actively works with the economic development community of the state to build Arkansas’ capacity to create high-wage, high-skill employment. Currently, Collins is working with Accelerate Arkansas, a statewide group of volunteers working under the nonprofit Capital Resource Corp., to benchmark the state’s progress in building knowledge-based companies and employment. Collins has published in scholarly and applied journals, and he is regularly interviewed by national and local media. He earned his doctorate in economics from the University of Tennessee in 1996.

The Walton College Center for Business and Economic Research is a public service/outreach organization whose mission is to serve its constituents with the highest quality research support; basic and applied business and economic analysis; timely, relevant business, economic and related public policy information; and other outreach activities. In addition to supporting research within the college, the center supports economic development by providing economic and demographic data and analysis to business, government and individuals.

Registration forms will be mailed at the end of December. For more information on sponsorships or reservations for Business Forecast 2006, contact the Center for Business and Economic Research, Sam M. Walton College of Business, Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, 479-575-4151, fax 479-575-7687, or e-mail: cber@walton.uark.edu. To register online, visit the Business Forecast Web site at: http://cber.uark.edu