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Last modified: Thursday, March 27, 2008

IU economics Ph.D. Bullard to head Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 27, 2008

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- James B. Bullard, who holds a doctorate in economics from Indiana University Bloomington, has been appointed president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis by the bank's board of directors.

Bullard will assume his new position on Tuesday, April 1. He succeeds William Poole, who will retire as president on March 31 after serving in the position for 10 years.

"Jim's appointment is wonderful news for everyone concerned with monetary policy. He has made fundamental contributions to monetary economics and policy analysis," said Robert Becker, professor of economics and executive associate dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at IU Bloomington. Bullard was Becker's doctoral student while at IU.

The St. Louis Fed is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that, along with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., comprise the Federal Reserve System. As the nation's central bank, the Federal Reserve System formulates U.S. monetary policy, regulates state-chartered member banks and bank holding companies, and provides payment services to financial institutions and the U.S. government. Bullard, as president of the St. Louis Fed, will rotate with other Reserve Bank presidents as a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, the monetary policy making arm of the Fed.

"He is a thoroughly accomplished economic theorist who has spent his entire professional career at the St. Louis Fed," Becker said. "His research is closely informed by the ways central banks operate and he has extensive experience briefing the current St. Louis Fed president, William Poole, in his preparation for the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee's meetings."

Gerhard Glomm, chairman of the IU Department of Economics, said the appointment is wonderful news for the department.

"Dr. Bullard's extensive publication record in the best academic journals is a reflection of the quality of the rigorous quantitative training received in the Department of Economics," Glomm said. "The appointment of Dr. Bullard to be president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis is excellent testimony to the fact that the very rigorous, highly quantitative training in the Department of Economics is recognized as being of the highest importance for public policy formulation and implementation."

The appointment was made this week after an extensive search by the board and was approved by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Bullard joined the Research Division in the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank in 1990, the same year he received his doctorate from IU. He has held increasingly responsible roles in the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Research Division for more than 18 years and has published extensively on economic policy issues.

"I am very excited by the opportunity to serve in this important role," Bullard said in a statement released by the Federal Reserve System. "I'm proud to have been part of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis over the past 18 years and have seen the tremendous work done by our entire team.

Bullard is a native of Forest Lake, Minnesota, and is married to Jane Callahan, who holds a master's degree in public administration from Indiana University and works at Parents as Teachers National Center. The couple have two daughters and live in the St. Louis area.

With branches in Little Rock, Louisville, and Memphis, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis serves the Eighth Federal Reserve District, which includes all of Arkansas, eastern Missouri, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, western Kentucky, western Tennessee, and northern Mississippi.