Unveiling the 2025 Colorado and National Economic Outlook and New Year Networking Kickoff

Richard L. Wobbekind is Associate Dean for Business & Government Relations, Senior Economist, and Faculty Director of the University of Colorado Boulder Business Research Division. He joined the faculty at the Leeds School of Business in 1985 and has served as an Associate Dean since 2000.

As Faculty Director of the Business Research Division, Wobbekind's responsibilities include developing an annual consensus forecast of the Colorado economy and performing various economic impact assessments. He also produces the quarterly Leeds Business Confidence Index for Colorado.

Rich is the past president of the National Association for Business Economics. He participates annually in the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank Regional Economic Roundtable and contributes to the Western Blue Chip forecast newsletter and the National Association of Business Economists Economic Outlook and Policy Surveys.

Rich is a member of the Governor’s Revenue Estimating Advisory Committee and the Boulder Economic Council. He is an advisory board member for the Western Regional Science Association.

Rich, who had worked in community development and outreach, was awarded the University of Colorado Community Outreach Award in 1997.  In 2002, he was named a Member of Distinction by the Boulder Chamber of Commerce.  In 2006, he received the Robert L. Stearns Award for lifetime excellence in research, teaching, and service to the University of Colorado. In 2008, he was awarded the Thayne Robsen award from the Association for University Business and Economics Research for his career achievement in regional economic analysis.  In 2010, he was named Key Contributor by the Boulder Chamber of Commerce. In 2011, he was named a Fellow by the National Association for Business Economics.

Wobbekind teaches MBA students macroeconomics, public policy, and managerial economics. He has received three awards for teaching excellence from the Leeds School students. Wobbekind has lived in Colorado for more than 44 years and has spent much of his time studying the development of the Colorado and regional economies. He received a BA in economics from Bucknell University and an MA and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder.