The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston has chosen a university economist and top administrator to be its next president.
Susan M. Collins has served as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Michigan since 2020. She is a also a professor of economics at U of M and former dean of the university's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.
Collins is the first Black woman to head one of the Fed's twelve regional banks. In her role, she will have a vote on the Fed's interest rate decisions this year.
Before coming to Michigan, Collins served on the economics faculty at Harvard University and Georgetown University and as a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
She has served for nine years on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Reserve Bank.
"Dr. Collins brings the technical expertise and insight to contribute to policymaking and the leadership ability to head the organization," said Dr. Christina Paxson, president of Brown University and chair of the Boston Reserve Bank's Board of Directors, in a written statement. "She is deeply committed to serving the public, engaging with constituents, and advancing economic stability, opportunity, and prosperity for the region and nation through the work of the central bank. Susan has also advanced diversity, equity, and inclusion through her work with the American Economic Association, the Ford School, and the University of Michigan."
Collins will assume her post at the Boston Fed on July 1st after the end of the academic year at the University of Michigan.
