University President Steven Knapp discussed GW’s role in D.C.’s economy at a panel at the Newseum on Thursday.

The Global Cities Initiative forum, sponsored by the Brookings Institution and JP Morgan Chase, focused on ways D.C. could boost its economic growth. The project works with leaders in U.S. cities to “reorient their economies toward greater engagement in world markets,” according to its website.

The panel covered the the District’s economic growth, which has slowed in recent years, according to a report by Global Cities Initiative.

“We have to figure out what it means to be a city that is on everyone’s itinerary,” Knapp said, according to a University release.

Knapp also called for a higher enrollment cap, in D.C., saying that allowing more students to attend the University could help graduate students. The District limits GW’s full-time undergraduate and graduate enrollment to 16,553.

“If that cap were lifted, we could expand opportunities for graduate students,” Knapp said, according to the release.

Jim Tankersley, a reporter at The Washington Post who covers economic policy, moderated the panel.

The Chair of the Greater Washington Board of Trade Anthony Pierce, Chief Executive Officer of Inova Health System John Knox Singleton and Chief Executive Officer of Patton Electronics Company Robert Patton were also panelists.