FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (6/06)
Contact: Kelsey Johnson or Lynn Stewart, Centenary News Service, 318-841-7265

Free Economics Workshop for Secondary Educators to be Offered at Centenary; Registration Deadline is July 14

SHREVEPORT, LA— A free, one-day workshop for secondary teachers, “The Role of the Fed in Calm or Crisis,” will be held at Centenary College Friday, July 21.

The focus of the workshop addresses the Federal Reserve’s role in the U. S. payments system and the efforts through cash and check operations to ameliorate the financial chaos brought on by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

“This is a rare opportunity for teachers to focus on the economic impact of the hurricanes,” says Harold Christensen, director of the Center for Economics Education at Centenary.

“The Atlanta Fed was singularly influential in providing liquidity and financial stabilization in the wake of Katrina. We are indeed fortunate to have been selected again as a site for this cooperative venture between these two Federal Reserve Banks.”

Presenters for the workshop include Sherry Kiser of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, “Preparing for a Rainy Day”; Michael Criszt of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, “Hurricane Katrina: Economic Effects”; Sheri Lazare of the Louisiana Council for Economic Education, “Virtual Economics”; Claire Loup of the New Orleans Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, “Paper, Not Plastic! Katrina Confirms Cash Is King”; and Christensen of Centenary College, “Certain Teaching of Economic Uncertainty.”

The workshop is open to any junior high or high school economics or social studies teacher in the four-state area. The workshop includes complimentary continental breakfast and lunch. It is co-sponsored by Centenary’s Center for Economics Education, the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Dallas and the Louisiana Council on Economic Education.

Registration information is available by calling Christensen at 318-869-5130 or Kelly Schellinger in the Frost School of Business at 318-869-5141. Electronic registration may be completed through the Louisiana Council on Economic Education at www.lcee.org. Registration deadline is July 14.

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