[caption id="attachment_16944" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] University of Delaware President Emeritus Patrick T. Harker is one of three speakers for the Feb. 16 economic forecast.[/caption]

By Kathy Canavan

When University of Delaware President Emeritus Patrick T. Harker returns to Newark on Feb. 16, he will be speaking as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

Harker will be one of three speakers making predictions at the popular Lyons Companies' 2016 Economic Forecast.

Since he was named president and CEO of the Philadelphia Fed last summer, Harker has talked with many small-business owners about the challenges they face. In a widely reported speech in Philadelphia in December, he said his personal view is that the United States will see steady and modest growth going forward.

"Our challenge is to ensure that we have the resources, the vision and the leadership to make full use of our district's potential," he said. "We don't know exactly what tomorrow will look like, but we do know it will be different. We need to stay attuned to, and ahead of, those changes."

The panel for the event also includes political satirist P.J. O'Rourke, who has been dubbed "the funny conservative" and whom The Wall Street Journal called "the funniest writer in America." O'Rourke tackled the global economy in his 1998 book "Eat the Rich."

The third member of the panel will be author Michael K. Farr, a CNBC contributor and president of the investment advisory firm Farr, Miller and Washington of Washington, D.C. He is the author of "A Million Is Not Enough," "The Arrogance Cycle" and "Restoring Our American Dream: The Best Investment."

Jon Hilsenrath, chief economic correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, will moderate the event. Hilsenrath, based in Washington, D.C., covers the Federal Reserve and tracks the U.S. and global economies for the paper.

The 2016 Economic Forecast is slated from 8:30-11:30 a.m. Feb. 16 at Clayton Hall Conference Center at 100 David Hollowell Drive on the University of Delaware's North Campus in Newark. The forecast is free to attend.

The event is sponsored by the Lyons Companies, a Wilmington risk management services company that focuses on middle-market businesses, and the UD Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship.

For more information, contact Jenn Miller at Lyons Companies at (302) 472-2957 or economicforecast@lyonsinsurance.com