School of Business Wins Regional Fed Challenge

For the second year in a row, VCU School of Business’ Fed Challenge Team won the Richmond round of the College Fed Challenge Competition, James Madison University and the University of Richmond placed second and third in this year’s competition.

Ten teams entered the Richmond round. In addition to the three universities, Old Dominion, Bridgewater College, Liberty University and Hampton University, and two teams from the University of Virginia participated in this year’s challenge.

The VCU team included Colby Bowker, Will DeHaven, Patrick Harvey, Greg Kennedy, and Jon Ilhan. Alternates were Gavin Harmon, Peter Hufschmidt, and Brian Sears. The team was coached by Dr. Dennis O’Toole, emeritus associate professor of Economics. The competition is sponsored by the Federal Reserve Fifth District and competitions were held in Richmond and Baltimore on November 14 and 15 and Baltimore on November 16, 17 and 18.

Mount Saint Mary won Baltimore’s round, and in overall competition, edged out VCU by two points to win the district title, and advance to the national competition in Washington, D.C.

The Federal Reserve sponsors College Fed Challenge to encourage better understanding of the nation’s central bank, the forces influencing economic conditions in the U.S. and abroad, and the ways the economy affects everyone’s lives. In Fed Challenge, teams give 20-minute presentations on monetary policy and answer 15 minutes of questions from Federal Reserve research economists. The teams are judged on content, teamwork, response to questions, presentation and style.