Bank One Gift Endows New Outreach Initiatives at UA Eller College

Thanks to a gift of $900,000 from Bank One Arizona to the Eller College of Business and Public Administration "Campaign for the New Century," the college will be able to expand its outreach efforts with two new initiatives.

Bank One (and its predecessor, Valley National Bank) is a long-time supporter of the Eller College and the Economic and Business Research Program at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

"We are delighted to partner with Bank One to bring these important economic programs to the public," said Eller College Dean Mark Zupan when announcing the gift.

The first initiative will fund a series of seminars for the Arizona business community. The Eller College/Bank One Business Forums will address state, local, national and international issues that affect the economic health of Arizona residents and businesses. Organized by Professor Gerald Swanson, an award-winning teacher and author, the forums will be presented three times per year.

The inaugural forum, scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 25th, will address Arizona's tax structure and policy issues surrounding the tax debate. The second forum, scheduled for spring 2001, will focus on the "New Economy" and what it means for Arizona businesses. In June, a mid-year economic update forum will offer analysis of national trends and a review of the Arizona and local economy.

A second initiative provides a new web site for the UA Economic and Business Research Program (EBR). For more than fifty years, EBR has served as the major source for information concerning the Arizona economy. The web site is designed for the general public and contains commonly requested information, such as the inflation rate, unemployment, job growth, retail spending patterns and other aggregate measures. From the site, visitors can access current metrics, read an interpretation of the data by EBR researchers, and follow links to detailed data/descriptions from the originating agency. Recent publications, including the award-winning Arizona's Economy newsletter, are available on the web site in PDF format.