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LAWRENCE -- Gov. Bill Graves and three of his predecessors will be at the University of Kansas on Thursday, Oct. 17, for a rare public discussion of the economic and budgetary challenges facing the state.
The Roundtable of Kansas Governors will introduce the Kansas Economic Policy conference, a daylong program that opens for registration at 8:15 a.m. in the Kansas Union. Additional information about the conference and online registration are available through KU Continuing Education, www.kuce.org/app/kepc, or by calling (785) 864-5823 or toll-free (877) 404-5823. The registration deadline is Oct. 10. Conference planners recommend registering well in advance.
The roundtable, the only free portion of the conference, is scheduled for 9 to 10:15 a.m. in Woodruff Auditorium of the Kansas Union. Because seating is limited, tickets will be required for the panel. These can be obtained in advance from the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics by calling (785) 749-3911 or can be picked up at the KU Policy Research Institute, KU Continuing Education and all KU ticket offices, including Student Union Activities, (785) 864-7469, and the Lied Center, (785) 864-2787.
Joining Graves on stage will be former Kansas Govs. Mike Hayden (1987-91), William Avery (1965-67) and John Anderson Jr. (1961-65). They are likely to address the theme of the 2002 Kansas Economic Policy Conference: "At the Crossroads: Can Kansas Afford Its Future?" The four governors bring a unique perspective, rooted in more than four decades experience.
The conference features a luncheon keynote address at noon by Robert Tannenwald, assistant vice president and economist in the Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Tannenwald will compare and contrast the Kansas economic situation with that of other states and the country as a whole. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College, holds a Ph.D. from Harvard and has published extensively on such public finance subjects as the business tax climate and the impact of state and local tax policies. He is on the board of directors of the National Tax Association.
At 10:30 a.m., the topic is "Hard Facts: The Kansas Revenue Picture." Presenters are Duane Goossen, director of the budget, State of Kansas; W. Bartley Hildreth, director, Kansas Public Finance Center, and regents distinguished professor of public finance at Wichita State University; Burdett Loomis, professor of political science at KU; and Patricia Oslund and David Burress, research economists in the Policy Research Institute at KU.
At 1:30 p.m., the topic is "Hard Choices: Kansas Expenditure Options." Presenters are Bruce Baker, assistant professor of education at KU; Peter Hancock, statehouse bureau chief, Kansas Public Radio; Jocelyn Johnston, associate professor of public administration at KU; and Tracy Taylor, president of the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corp.
The conference is presented by the Policy Research Institute and the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at KU.
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