Dr. Philip Jefferson is set to make history as the second Black vice chair of the Federal Reserve Board, the Washington Post reports.
If confirmed, Jefferson will work alongside Chair Jerome H. Powell during a tumultuous economic time. Just last week, the Feds hiked up interest rates for the 10th time in a year and a half.
Jefferson’s nomination was announced by the White House in an official statement.
“These nominees understand that this job is not a partisan one, but one that plays a critical role in pursuing maximum employment, maintaining price stability, and supervising many of our nation’s financial institutions,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. “I am confident these nominees will help build upon the historically strong economic recovery we have had under my Administration.”
Before working in the government, Jefferson served as an economist at Davidson College where his research interests included economic inequality, how poverty rates are driven by business cycles, and the role of education as a protection against unemployment.
“As we know from experience, the pursuit of maximum employment and stable prices fosters an economic environment characterized by a dynamic labor market, entrepreneurship, private saving, and investment, and sustainable growth in consumption and production over the longer run,” Jefferson said at his confirmation hearing last year where was confirmed as a governor of the board with bipartisan support. “Further, long-run inclusive prosperity requires that the Federal Reserve pay careful attention to the safety and soundness of banks and the stability of the financial system.”
Jefferson was a professor at both Columbia University and Swarthmore College, and formerly served as a research economist at the Federal Reserve.
He’s a graduate of Vassar College and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.
Also making history is Adriana D. Kugler, the current U.S. executive director of the World Bank, who will become the first Latina governor of the central bank.
