Mission & Objective

The Center for Economic and Financial Education is housed within the Department of Economics in the College of Business and Economics at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington.

The Western Washington University Center is affiliated with the Washington Council for Economic and Financial Education and the Council on Economic Education. Founded in 1974, as a partnership of education, business, and labor, the Washington Council on Economic Education is the premier source of teacher training, educational materials, and curriculum reform in economics for Washington schools. Through its affiliation with CEE, the Western Center and the Washington Council gain access to resources from a nationwide network of councils and university centers.

Our collective mission is to prepare students to become:

  • Productive members of the work force
  • Responsible citizens
  • Knowledgeable consumers
  • Prudent savers and investors
  • Effective participants in the global economy
  • Competent decision makers throughout their lives

To accomplish this goal, the center brings real-life relevance into the classroom by training teachers how to integrate basic economic principles and concepts successfully into traditional studies.

History

The Center was established in the fall of 1978 with the objective of improving the quality and expanding the scope of economic education in the State of Washington. The Center is dedicated to the task of helping people increase their understanding of basic economic concepts and how our American economic system operates so that they can make more intelligent economic choices as consumers, producers and citizen/voters.

Audience Served

Teachers in Washington State and Washington State students enrolled in teacher education programs who have an interest in economic and/or financial education.

Students and faculty wearing medals