John Perruna Wins Award at 2014 College Fed Challenge

2014 Dec 2

John Perruna of Campbell Hall, NY, represented SUNY Oneonta in the semifinal round of the 2014 College Fed Challenge at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Nov. 14. SUNY Oneonta won an Honorable Mention Award in the competition.

The College Fed Challenge is a team competition for undergraduate college students. Inspired by the working of the Federal Open Market Committee, the competition requires that students work as a team to research and analyze current economic data, develop a forecast and review potential future economic risks, and prepare a presentation and answer questions on a recommendation for monetary policy.

Perruna, a senior majoring in Business Economics, was part of a 13-member SUNY Oneonta team that traveled to the Federal Reserve Bank for the first round of the competition on Oct. 31. The students were accompanied by their adviser, Associate Professor of Economics David Ring. Teams from 36 colleges and universities in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut competed in the first round, and the SUNY Oneonta contingent bested teams from the other schools in its competition bracket to advance to the semifinals.

Each team was evaluated in four categories--knowledge of current economic conditions, understanding of monetary policy, data and analysis, and teamwork. In the semifinal round, SUNY Oneonta's team earned a score of 16 out of 20 to finish among the top nine schools. Judges praised the SUNY Oneonta contingent for its teamwork and awarded a 5 (the highest score possible) in this category.

SUNY Oneonta's School of Economics and Business is accredited by AACSB International--the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, a designation achieved by fewer than 5 percent of business schools around the world. In addition to its three undergraduate majors, Professional Accounting, Business Economics and Economic, the school offers two minors, four concentrations and seven cooperative programs.