Susan M. Collins, the Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of Public Policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, will participate in a jobs and economic growth forum this week at the White House.
Collins will join other business, labor and financial experts Dec. 3 to share ideas with President Barack Obama on growing the economy and putting Americans back to work. She will participate in the "Expanding Job Opportunities for American Workers through Exports" breakout session—one of six sessions planned that day—with about 20 people. Senior administration officials will serve as moderators.
The export breakout group will focus on how the United States can continue to compete with rising economies and on strategies for shifting from consumption-driven to export-driven growth.
In a closing town hall session, participants will be able to ask the president questions and engage in conversation about issues related to job creation and economic growth.
Collins has been the Ford School dean for two years. She was previously a professor of economics at Georgetown University and a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution. Collins served as a senior staff economist on the President's Council of Economic Advisers during 1989-90
Her area of expertise is international economics, including issues in both macroeconomics and trade. Her current work explores external imbalances in the U.S. and other regions, as well as growth experiences in China and India. She recently co-authored a volume on the Puerto Rican economy.