58th Annual AUBER Fall Conference: Building Partnerships

Conference Program & Summary
Acknowledgements
Awards
Photos
The Desert Sons
Sonido de Mexico Mariachi band

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AUBER’s 58th annual conference, held in Tucson, October 17-19, will go down in the AUBER history book as one of our most interesting and fun conferences to date! There was something for everyone! The conference program, organized by Janet Speyrer, University of New Orleans, and Rennae Daneshvary, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was diverse and interesting. Program sessions ranged from topics in land use and environment to how AUBER units earn money, from border issues to how units can enhance and promote their economic outlook conferences. There were sessions on the use of federal statistics, how to get the most out of the BLS web site, successful center marketing practices, U.S. economic forecast, tips on effective publication and web site design, competitiveness and innovation in key business sectors, high tech industry, and much more… Some of our special guests included: Rosemary Marcus, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and NABE president; Duncan Meldrum, Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. and former NABE president; David Wyss, Standard & Poor’s; Jack Kleinhenz, Kleinhenz & Associates; and Joseph Curry, Sawtooth Technologies. Of course, everyone enjoyed the second annual AUBER poster session! Thanks to all our wonderful session organizers and presenters for their hard work and great presentations!

The weather in Tucson cooperated beautifully for the famous AUBER fieldtrip to the San Xavier Mission and the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. We had a lovely afternoon wandering through the beautiful desert landscape and visiting with mountain lions, wolves, bears, prairie dogs, hummingbirds, hawks, otters, and rattlesnakes in a natural setting. Dinner was outside on the terrace with plenty of good food and conversation as we were serenaded by The Desert Sons western band against the backdrop of a southwestern sunset. At our opening reception, held at the Eller College of Management, The University of Arizona’s Sonido de Mexico Mariachi band treated guests to a taste of “Old Mexico.” Thanks to our hosts The University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and Northern Arizona University.

On behalf of my unit, the Economic and Business Research Center at the University of Arizona, I’d like to thank you all for coming and visiting us out here in the “Old Pueblo” and making this such a great conference! For those of you who couldn’t make it out here, we hope to see you all next year in Montana!!!

–Maile L. Nadelhoffer