Wildcats Appointed to Fed Leadership Roles: Jefferson Confirmed by U.S. Senate
May 12, 2022
- Author
- Jay Pfeifer
With bipartisan support, Philip Jefferson was confirmed to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors by the U.S. Senate Wednesday.
All eyes are on the Federal Reserve right now. With inflation surging amid a tight job market and a supply chain that is still wobbly from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fed will be called on to steer the economy through choppy waters.
In this time of great need, two members of the Davidson community have been called to help.
Yesterday, Philip Jefferson, vice president of academic affairs and the dean of faculty, was voted into a seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors by the U.S. Senate. The fractious Senate, which had delayed confirmation votes for months, were overwhelmingly supportive of Jefferson, voting 91-7 to make Jefferson the fourth Black man to serve on the Fed Board.
Before he joined Davidson in 2019, Jefferson taught economics and served as department chair at Swarthmore College, and previously taught at Columbia University and the University of Virginia. He served as an economist for the Federal Reserve governors, in Washington, D.C., and for the Federal Reserve Bank, in New York.
Just hours before Jefferson’s confirmation, Lorie Logan, a political science major and member of the class of 1995, was named president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. A Fed employee since 1999, Logan has helped lead the Fed through multiple crises: September 11, the 2007-08 recession and the pandemic.
As head of one of the Fed system’s 12 regional reserve banks, Logan will oversee 1,200 associates and have a leading voice in monetary policy. Fed presidents rotate in and out of four voting positions with Logan’s rotation beginning next year.
Davidson alums weren’t the only ones who noticed the Wildcats’ big moves. Howard Schneider, the Fed correspondent for Reuters tweeted:
Re Lorie Logan appointment to @dallasfed, along with Gov. nominee Phil Jefferson @DavidsonCollege punching above its weight on monetary policy all of a sudden....Largest D3 contributor ever?
— Howard Schneider (@hpschneider) May 11, 2022
(The Davidson College Twitter account reminded Schneider that the Wildcats play Division 1 athletics.)
Additional Coverage
Davidson College Dean of Faculty Philip Jefferson tapped for Federal Reserve Board of Governors post. Watch the nomination hearing live at 8:45 a.m., Feb. 3.
Economic experts frequently disagree, but a Davidson College-led national panel of four of them reached a consensus about the year ahead: The recovery will be swift…and uneven.
