The Financial Crisis: A Year Later, a free symposium focusing on current economic conditions in the wake of last year's financial meltdown, will feature experts from The New York Times and the financial industry. The event, at 6:45 p.m. Oct. 5 in the Partrich Auditorium of the Wayne State University Law School, is open to the public. It is hosted by the Wayne State Center for the Study of Citizenship.

New York Times Business and Financial Editor Lawrence Ingrassia will be joined by Henry "Chip" Dickson, CFA and Managing Director of W2 Freedom, in presentations with questions and answers moderated by Law School Professor Linda M. Beale, whose scholarship has focused on various aspects of corporate tax shelters and proposing more transparent financial reporting.

Dickson evaluates the convergence of regulatory, corporate and private actions that contributed to both the technology and housing bubbles, and a misunderstanding of the realities of financial growth that contributed to the crisis. He will discuss ways in which he believes this most recent financial crisis is more dangerous than past economic plights. Ingrassia will focus on the policy debate and tension over whether the financial system needs to be fixed to serve the broader economy, and how to do so without stifling innovation--which is important to every industry. At the same time those "fixers" must not allow activity that poses systemic risk. "In the end, getting this right," Ingrassia says, "is important to revitalizing the battered economy and contributing to the financial health of all industries."

The presentations will be followed by moderated discussion with audience participation. This event is sponsored by the Eugene Applebaum Chair for Community Engagement, FOCIS: Forum on Contemporary Issues in Society, and The New York Times Knowledge Network, among many others. Up to 100 community and business leaders participate in this free event each year. For more information, visit http://www.clas.wayne.edu/citizenship/