USD President's Report and Honor Roll of Donors 1993

ALAN GIN

As an example, S ister Fu ray cites lead custodian Ted Geddes, who is active in the Down's Syndrome Association and recently was named chairman of the East County Community Advisory Committee for Special Education . Geddes, the fa ther of a 5-year-old boy with Down's syndrome, is working to have students with disabilities included in regular classrooms. "People with disabilities are no different from so-called 'typical' people," Geddes says. "They have the same wants and needs and desires." Coming from an institution pervaded by community service, it is no wonder USO alumni often carry a sense of altruism into their professional lives. "If you work as a vo luntee r whi le you're a student, there is a very high probability that you will work as a volunteer after you graduate," says John Trifiletti, director of alumni relations. To illustrate, Trifiletti cites Mary O'Connor '83 and Rich Yousko '87. "They both were resident ass istants who were active in community service and cam- pus ministry," he says. "Today, Mary is a pediatric dentist who spends one day a week at a nearby Indian reservation, and Rich is a representative of an out- door equipment company who br ings medical supplies to fami lies in Mex ico and Croatia." THE GIFT OF PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE During the 1991 fa ll semes ter, an economist from the USO School of Business Administration to ld an audience at a Business Update Seminar about a system he had just developed for measuring the health of San Diego's economy by tracking such indicators as unemployment, tourism and building permits. In the live ly question-and-answer sess ion that fo llowed, one of the executives urged the economist, Alan Gin, to share his new tool with the local business community. Several weeks later, Gin released his first monthly USO Index of Leading Economic Indicators (see story on page 7). Executives who attend seminars and se ries offered through the USO Continu ing Education Division often walk away with invaluable tips. During the 1992-93 school year, more than 150 profess ionals participated in one or more of the fo llowing program.s: the Business Update Seminars; the Certificate in International Business and Certificate in Direct Marketing; and the Family Business Institute, Southern California's first professional training center for fami ly-owned businesses. Continuing Educa tion programs are just one example of how USO puts its resources to use in the professional arena. Practitioners of law, nursing, the arts, enginee ring, marine science and commerce can and do seek guidance from the university community. 'This institution has been blessed with very talented people, and we like to see their ta lents put to good use, " Hughes says. One of those people has been putting his ta lents to use on behalf of fledgling democracies. Bernard Siegan, distinguished professor of law, is adv ising Eastern European countries that are constructing new self-rule governments. His book, Drafting a Constitution for a Nation or Republic Emerging into Freedom, was recently translated and distributed to the Ukrainian Parliament.

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practical application in the community, Gin says, hut USO was immediately sup- portive of the San Diego LEI. "Unfortunately, a lot of the research that's done is puh- lished in academic journals, is seen hy other academicians and disappears," he says. "I think that for a university of our size, there's room for aca- demic research, hut there is also room for research that can be applied by the local community. That's where the index of leading economic indicators would fall." Gin involves students in the data gathering, particularly the members of the econom- ics club. This opportunity gives them valuahle experi- ence conducting research, he says. In the future, Gin would like to help government and husi- ness leaders evaluate how changes they are considering will affect the local economy. "We will develop a more sophisticated model of the economy someday that will help us analyze events that occur in the community," he says. "It also could he used to analyze policies the city is considering adapting. We'd like to work more with local and state government offi- cials in helping them develop the appropriate policies to get San Diego's economy going again."

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When Alan Gin talks, San Diego listens. That's hecause every month, Gin, assistant professor of economics and memher of USD's Economic Research Group, puhlishes the USO Index of Leading Economic Indicators. Gin's index is the San Diego ver- sion of the national leading economic indicators index released each month hy the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Though the index has heen reported widely in the San Diego media since its Novemher 1991 dehut and Gin is sought after as a speak- er and an expert for inter- views, his claims ahout the index's impact are modest: "I think the index has gotten people more interested in local economics," he says. The San Diego LEI comprises