Message from President Royce Engstrom.

• Author: Engstrom, Royce
• Position: Editorial

As you will read in these pages, the economy looks set for its best year in more than half a decade. Unemployment rates are coming down, and that's good news for our graduates who will soon be landing on job markets around the state. That's great news for all of us, of course. But the ups and downs of the economy in recent years really underscore our need to understand what kinds of businesses and activities are the key to our future economic success.

We appreciate the efforts of the BBER and all of the participants in its annual Economic Outlook Seminars as they travel the state and learn about economic conditions. But our special role as a University is not to simply understand the economy, but also to help shape it. The graduates of our programs, the research and knowledge created on our campuses, and the discussions and dialogues that take place are all part of that...