Barker Center for Economic Education celebrates new location with open house
Our LeBron James Family Foundation College of Education hosted an open house March 14 for its H. Kenneth Barker Center for Economic Education. The center, which has been a premier source in Northeast Ohio for economic teacher training, educational materials and curriculum reform for 45 years, relocated from Crouse Hall to a state-of-the-art space in Zook Hall, which is home to the LJFF College of Education.
Dr. Brad Maguth, center, executive director of the H. Kenneth Barker Center for Economic Education, provides remarks at the open house as the ribbon cutting ceremony unfolds with Interim President Dr. John C. Green.
After a ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening of the new location, the center showcased its 2018-2019 programming, including Think Tank to Shark Tank Youth Camp, teacher institutes (Understanding Fiscal Responsibility and Entrepreneurship & STEM Education), study abroad opportunities (“Brexit” Study Abroad and Economics & Science of Hate Study Abroad), collaborations with the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland; and a new course, “Teaching Personal Finance,” which is now required for all middle and secondary social studies students.
About 30 Northeast Ohio civic leaders, entrepreneurs, educators and the center’s advisory board members attended. Interim President Dr. John C. Green provided welcoming remarks. Dr. Brad Maguth, executive director of the center, and Dr. Jarrod Tudor, interim dean of the college, among others, also addressed visitors.
The Barker Center for Economic Education, is a national affiliate of the Council for Economic Education. Over its 45 years of operation, the center has instructed more than 5,000 teachers and administrators who affect the economic perspective of around 375,000 elementary and secondary students. The center is endowed and named after the late Dr. H. Kenneth Barker, a former dean of the college and a civic leader who was deeply committed to economic education.
Dr. Hal Foster, standing, chair of the center’s advisory board and a distinguished professor in the College of Education, speaks during the open house ceremony.
During the event, Dr. Hal Foster, chair of the center’s advisory board and a distinguished professor in the college, commented on Barker’s “…unwavering belief in the power of education to access the American Dream. Dean Barker, who grew-up in a family challenged by poverty, understood the important role of economic literacy for individual and societal success. Thus, the vision and the mission of the Barker Center was born.”
The center’s mission is to advance financial and economic education by preparing and supporting teachers, schools, and the broader university community in an increasingly global age. The center believes that a solid economic education is crucial to one’s education, not only for the improvement of one’s personal life, but for the overall health, peace, and sustainability of communities, our country, and the planet. More information about the Barker Center is available online.
Media contact: Alex Knisely, 330-972-6477 or aknisely@uakron.edu.