Noted economist Raj Chetty, who has studied equality of opportunity in the United States, will be the keynote speaker for the third Guilford Dialogues conference June 6-7 at Guilford College that is focused on economic inclusion.

Raj is William A. Ackman Professor of Economics at Harvard University and the Director of Opportunity Insights, which uses big data to study the science of economic opportunity. His work has been widely cited in academia, media outlets and policy discussions in the U.S. and beyond.

He will speak at 7 pm Thursday, June 6, at Dana Auditorium on Guilford’s campus. The event is open to conference attendees and the general public. Conference registration is underway, and single tickets to the keynote presentation and a reception preceding it are available on the registration page.

The College Board is the presenting sponsor for the keynote and Steve Bumbaugh, Senior Vice President for College, Career and Digital Access Technologies at The College Board, will moderate a Q&A with Raj following the talk.

“Having Raj Chetty as the keynote for Guilford Dialogues enriches the experience for our conference participants and draws additional attention to the conference and the College,” says President Kyle Farmbry. “We have an outstanding lineup of expert panelists for a robust discussion of economic inclusion, and having a leading economist like Raj only strengthens the potential for substantial dialogue and action.”

Raj has received numerous awards for his research, including a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, the John Bates Clark medal, given to the economist under 40 whose work is judged to have made the most significant contribution to the field and Harvard’s George Ledlie prize, awarded for research that made the most valuable contribution to science, or in any way for the benefit of mankind.

Raj was born in New Delhi, India, and his family immigrated to the U.S. in 1988 when he was nine. He earned his A.B. from Harvard University in 2000 and his Ph.D. from Harvard in 2003. In addition to Harvard, where he became one of the institution’s youngest tenured professors at the age of 28, he has taught Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University.

Guilford Dialogues, which was established by Kyle soon after he arrived at Guilford in 2022, will attract about 200 participants over two days on the Guilford campus.

The conference will feature a range of expert speakers and panelists including Surya Kolluri, Head of TIAA Institute, who is recognized as a thought leader in retirement and healthy aging research.

Other speakers that are confirmed for the conference are listed on the event’s web page.