The economist, Ben Bernanke, who President George W. Bush nominated to succeed Alan Greenspan as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, was a keynote speaker at the R.I.S.E. Symposium here at UD last March.

R.I.S.E., standing for Redefining Investment Strategy Education, is the largest symposium of its kind bringing students, faculty and leading investment professionals together to an interactive learning environment to discuss significant issues facing business professionals. In 2004, R.I.S.E. attracted 1000 participants representing 109 colleges and universities from four countries and was broadcast to 140 countries.

David Sauer, executive director of the RISE symposium and associate professor of finance at UD, said Bernanke was 'very articulate and knowledgeable' when he spoke to students at the symposium. Bernanke previewed his monetary philosophy with students and professionals during his keynote.

'I have advocated for stronger measures, such as adopting and inflation target or more explicit objectives' Bernanke told the students.

Along with being articulate and knowledgeable, Sauer said he was also 'personable and easy to talk to.'

Bernanke has high credentials, graduating from Harvard summa cum laude in 1975 and earning his Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1979. He taught at Stanford University from 1979-1985 and has since then been a professor in the Department of Economics at Princeton University. He has had government experience since 2002 from being on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve.

The markets seem to like the nomination. The Dow Jones Industrial Average went up 169 points, and the Nasdaq climbed 33. Bernanke intends to stay with similar policies of the legendary Alan Greenspan. Greenspan held the position of Chairman of the Federal Reserve for 18 years. However, Bernanke is a proponent of setting inflation targets as a way to guide interest rate policy. Many opponents of this strategy feel that it is too restrictive to set targets.

'One of the challenges he is going to have is deciding when to stop the interest rate increases,' said Sauer. 'It is a delicate balance and he needs to find that balance.'

Many business professionals and economists seem to be pleased with the Bernanke nomination.

'I think he is an excellent choice and it will make it a lot easier for investors having this decision being made,' said Sauer.