Economics majors and the department’s faculty and alumni gathered in downtown Chicago on Feb. 11 to trade advice, business cards, and congratulations during the college’s 25th annual Econ Day. The day-long networking event ended with news of a large-scale fundraising success and a special honor for Allen-Bradley Professor of Economics Jeff Adams.

More than three dozen students set their alarms early to make the 110-mile trip from campus to the Windy City. They started the day with two tours led by Chicago-based alumni. The first was hosted by Evans Papanikolaou’86 at the International Produce Market; the second was hosted by Andy Davis’79 at the Chicago Board of Trade.

The group continued on to the University of Chicago’s Gleacher Center, where the department’s majors had the chance to meet, learn from, and network with Chicago-based alumni, as well as those who flew in from other parts of the country.

This year, students spent the afternoon with two large alumni panels, the first of which was titled “Trading Futures, Trading Bonds” and featured alumni from the 1980s and ’90s. The second panel included 12 alumni who had attended the very first Econ Day as students. Their discussion revolved around the things they wished alumni and faculty had told them back in 1987.

Adams was the master of ceremonies at the evening’s closing reception. In addition to honoring Professor Emeritus of Economics Emil Kreider, he announced the successful completion of a $4 million fundraising campaign in support of the department’s Miller Upton Programs, which include a forum that brings a celebrated economist to campus for one week each fall.

Bill Fitzgerald’86 and Stopher Bartol’88, two alumni who facilitated the afternoon’s panel discussions, took the microphone from Adams and turned the spotlight on the evening’s host and Econ Day founder. Using emails sent in from more than two decades worth of Adams’ former students and fellow faculty members, the two (lightly) roasted Adams before announcing the creation of a new fund in his name. The Jeff Adams Internship Fund will begin supporting economics majors interning in the field as early as next fall.

More about Econ Day can be found on the Samuel J. Campbell Department of Economics website: http://www.beloit.edu/economics/econday/.