Last Wednesday, Beth Hammack, President and CEO of the Cleveland Federal Reserve, dropped by The Ohio State University with some pearls of economic wisdom and career advice for the Buckeyes. As reported by OSU News, the event, part of a Leadership Dialogue series, gave students the scoop on the inner workings of the U.S. economy and the Fed's role in shaping it.
Hammack's tour wasn't all talk; she engaged with projects across campus, including the AI Fluency initiative and stopped by the Center for Automotive Research. But, it's her insights on the Federal Reserve's mission – painting a picture of the U.S. economy through the lens of Ohio's diverse industries – that caught the attention. As Hammack put it, the fourth district "kind of a microcosm of the U.S. economy," according to the same OSU article.
Community development is more than a buzzword for Hammack. It's about getting a real-time feel for the economic landscape and representing Ohio's voice in the policy-maker's den. She emphasized this during her visit, stating, "by going out and meeting with these different businesses, community partners, individuals, I get more real-time feel for what’s going on in the economy," Hammack told the OSU community.
The Cleveland Fed, under Hammack's watch, also dives deep into economist research, boasting 71 Ph.D. economists who dissect various economic conundrums. From housing and workforce development to the ever-watchful eye on inflation, the bank's brainiacs are on the case. But what grabbed students' attention was the chance to join the fray themselves. Hammack highlighted an avenue up the research ladder – the Bank's Economic Scholars Program, a student-focused research conference that invites scholarly discourse from across the nation.
Before Hammack was calling the shots at the Cleveland Fed, she co-headed Goldman Sachs' global financing group and racked up academic accolades at Stanford. Her advice to students looking to mirror such success: research experience, interdisciplinary internships, and an open mind. Exploring academic paths is key, as Hammack encouraged Ohio State students during her visit, saying, "You want to take different opportunities that expose you to different things, different ways of thinking, different disciplines," according to Ohio State News.
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