On Friday, November 21, community leaders and residents alike gathered at Avalon Manor for Legacy Foundation’s 2026 FutureCast featuring a panel of financial experts from Indiana University. After Legacy Foundation President and CEO Kelly Anoe welcomed guests and led them in the Pledge of Allegiance, Micah Pollack, the interim dean of the School of Business and Economics at Indiana University Northwest, shared opening remarks and moderated the panel discussion.
“We have a long-standing partnership with Indiana University Northwest and the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, and they do these panel discussions all around the state. These panelists from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business are presenting this at about 10 locations around the State of Indiana, and we partner together each year,” Anoe said.
The panelists provided insight into the current financial climate from a variety of perspectives:
US/International Outlook – Timothy Slaper
Research Director, Indiana Business Research Center
Kelley School of Business
Indiana University
Financial Markets – Ryan Brewer
Division Head and Associate Professor of Finance, Division of Business
Indiana University Indianapolis-Columbus
Indiana Outlook – Carol Rogers
Director of the Indiana Business Research Center
Kelley School of Business
Indiana University
Northwest Indiana Outlook – Anthony Sindone
Visiting Clinical Associate Professor of Economic Development
School of Business and Economics
Indiana University Northwest
Having previously been featured as the regional economic panelist for 12 years, Pollack understands the importance of bringing financial experts, community leaders, and Indiana residents together for the FutureCast each year.
“I think this is the most important event of the year, because it takes community members in Northern Indiana and connects them with the Indiana University economic specialists,” Pollack said. “It lets them ask questions and hear directly from the mouths of the people who live and breathe this stuff every day. I think this facilitates an important connection that goes from the highest point of the university to the average citizen and brings them together. It showcases the importance of Indiana University and the impact it has on the state.”
Major points of interest at this year’s FutureCast included trade policy, AI investment, interest rates, the labor market/unemployment rates, demographic/population changes, housing affordability, childcare costs, growth projections, and more.
No matter what each attendee took away from the 2026 FutureCast, Rogers was encouraged to see so many people choosing to engage in financial discussion, with many attendees not only participating in the official Q&A session following the main presentations but also remaining after the event to connect with the panelists for further questions.
“It really helps to have leadership and people who are active in their community,” Rogers said. “Here, they are hearing the straight from the ‘four horses,’ and they’re all taking away something a little different,” Rogers said. “There are many people who are still here, standing and engaging. It might not be about what we said, but what they realized as they heard it. They are saying, ‘We need to change this,’ ‘We need to try that,’ or ‘What if we do this?’ It really sparks creativity.”
To learn more about Legacy Foundation, visit legacyfdn.org.