As part of his two-day tour to the Southern Tier, John Williams, the president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, visited Binghamton University on Thursday.

Shelley Dionne, the School of Management dean, led a moderated discussion with Williams — who has headed the New York Reserve Bank since 2018 — at 11 a.m. in the Information Technologies Complex. Williams highlighted the importance of local, nationwide and global economic data in informing monetary policymaking at the Federal Reserve. He then spoke at length about the Fed’s “dual mandate” of achieving maximum employment while maintaining price stability and offered his personal views on where the economy is headed.

“The economy has been on a remarkable journey,” Williams said. “In two years, the red-hot labor market has normalized and inflation has come within striking distance of our 2 percent longer-run goal — all while employment and the economy continues to grow. We instituted and maintained a very restricted monetary policy stance until the data gave us confidence inflation is sustainably on course at 2 percent. With this progress toward achieving price stability, moving toward a more neutral monetary policy stance will help maintain the strength of the economy and weight in the labor market. Although the outlook remains uncertain, we are well-positioned to achieve our goals.”

Dionne then asked Williams about his tour of the Southern Tier, which began Wednesday with a visit to a race track followed by stops in Steuben and Chemung Counties, where he met with regional agricultural, manufacturing and community development leaders. Williams traveled to Broome County on Thursday to visit facilities owned by the nonprofit Association for Vision Rehabilitation and Employment and attend a meeting with local business leaders hosted by the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce before arriving at the University.

He reported that the business community was excited about regional investments in clean technologies and manufacturing while expressing concern about the skilled workforce needed to support these industries. Community groups in the area were also cautious about the impact high living costs will have on families, he added.

The Federal Reserve System is made up of 12 regional Reserve Banks that monitor economic conditions within their geographic boundaries. The New York Fed represents the Second Federal Reserve District, which includes all of New York state, northern New Jersey, southwestern Connecticut, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each regional bank president joins the Board of Governors every six weeks in Washington, D.C. for meetings organized by the Federal Open Market Committee — a governing body where Williams serves as vice chairman.

Students later asked questions about a wide range of topics, from the evolution of behavioral economics as a field to the national deficit. Luca Cassidy, the Student Association’s vice president for student success and a senior majoring in economics, said he was grateful to the University for giving him the opportunity to hear from Williams.

“I walked away with a better understanding of how our monetary policy is implemented,” Cassidy wrote. “Like many students, I am somewhat terrified of unemployment, so it was pleasant to hear that the job market is finally returning to normal.”

Pipe Dream spoke with Williams following the moderated discussion. While he declined to comment on specific fiscal policies pursued by elected officials, he discussed how business leaders have reacted to recent investments in the region.

“It is notable how much business leaders and other leaders in this region and in the state comment on [how] a lot of this investment is in areas where there’s been a big push on state and fiscal policy,” Williams said. “So we think about clean tech, you think about bringing manufacturing to the region and also on some of the push on having a workforce that’s ready to take these jobs on. I feel like a lot of business leaders have seen the fiscal policy actions, various types of actions, have been a big support to some of the kind of investments we’re talking about. And I think you hear that a lot, so I’m not commenting on the value of it. I’m commenting more on [how] I think it is one of the drivers of a lot of business investment of late, and we’re seeing it in the data, and we’re seeing it in some of the conversations we had.”

He acknowledged that the Second District spans different regions, noting that understanding economic diversity can help inform nationwide monetary policy. Williams then discussed some of the challenges agricultural and small-business leaders he met with during the regional tour have expressed. Demand for agricultural products remained high, according to Williams, but owners showed uncertainty about how that demand can be met, and small-business owners and startup leaders spoke about obtaining capital to grow their businesses.

In response to a question about the independence of the Federal Reserve — which does not receive funding through congressional appropriations — Williams argued that independence allows for the Federal Reserve to focus on the “longer term view of achieving price stability and maximum employment” and not “short-term political concerns.” He noted further that central banks across the world — from Japan to England — have been given independence to act on monetary policy.

Williams also discussed the role that a diverse workplace can play in helping the Fed achieve its public mission, saying a culture of inclusion allows employees to do their best work and achieve the Fed’s public mission.

“And I think that when we think about [it], all of our efforts are really focused on achieving that kind of culture, bringing in the most creative and that includes diverse perspectives,” Williams said. “We don’t want to just have everybody in a mode of groupthink of ‘well, you know, I’ve always thought about it this way.’ So let’s get people into the mix that have different experiences, different backgrounds, have studied different things or just have a different viewpoint. So that, to me, is extremely important. I think it’s extremely important for what we do. It’s a public mission organization.”

He concluded his Southern Tier visit by meeting with representatives from the New Energy New York Battery Tech Hub at Binghamton. The visit comes around a month after the Federal Reserve slashed the federal funds rate by half a percentage point.

University President Harvey Stenger reflected on Williams’ visit to the University and his interactions with students.

“We were able to have a nice conversation with Mr. Williams about the history and growth of our campus and highlight how our University continues to provide a positive economic impact to the region,” Stenger said. “He told us he was pleased with the opportunity to learn more about Binghamton and its priority projects and he was highly complimentary of our students who came to hear his presentation earlier in the day and participated in a question and answer session. He said he was very impressed by the depth and breadth of their knowledge on economic and monetary policy.”