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PORTLAND, Maine

NEA economist Richard Sims to speak on the future of American education on March 4th

Richard Sims, Ph.D., chief economist at the National Education Association, will be talking on "The Future of American Education: An Economic Perspective" on Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 6 p.m. in the Westbrook College of Health Professions Lecture Hall on the University of New England's Portland Campus.  

A reception will be held prior to the lecture at 5 p.m. 

The lecture, sponsored by UNE's Center for Global Humanities, is free and open to the public.

Dr. Sims is chief economist of the National Education Association. Sims previously served as policy director for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington, director of Applied Economic Research at the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia, chief economist & director of taxation & economic policy for the Arkansas Legislature, and director of the Office of Economic Analysis for the Kentucky Legislature. In addition, he served two years as the senior advisor to the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova.

Dr. Sims has authored over one hundred publications on taxation, economic growth and regional development, and applied public finance. He has served on the boards of several professional organizations, including the Executive Committee of the National Council of State Legislatures, as chairman of the Economic Development Committee of the Assembly on State Legislatures, the International Fulbright Fellowship Program, and president of the Kentucky Economic Association.   

He has worked with scores of business, civic organizations and governmental organizations and has conducted and presented policy studies in over forty states.  

Dr. Sims's teaching experience includes graduate courses in economics, public finance, public policy analysis, and organizational leadership at the University of Kentucky, Kentucky State University, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, the University of Georgia, and the University of Moldova.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.