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Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke to Deliver Class Day Speech
Cambridge, Mass. - April 9, 2008 - Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, has been selected the 2008 Harvard College Class Day speaker. He will speak to the graduating class and guests on Wed., June 4, 2008 at 2 p.m. in Tercentenary Theatre in Harvard Yard.
"We are thrilled to have Mr. Bernanke as our Class Day speaker. As a former undergraduate of Harvard College and an influential domestic policy decision maker, we believe Mr. Bernanke will provide the perfect balance of thought to our graduation ceremonies. We are looking forward to having him here in June" said First Class Marshal Alexander J. Tennant '08.
Traditionally taking place on the day before Commencement, Class Day is a student-focused, less formal celebration of the graduating class at Harvard College.
Bernanke, who received a bachelor's from the College in 1975, took the reigns of the Federal Reserve in February 2006. In that capacity, he also serves as the chair of the Federal Reserve's principal monetary policymaking body, the Federal Open Market Committee.
"I cannot think of a more appropriate time for Chairman Bernanke to come speak. No one is better equipped to address the difficult issues in our economy and how we as Harvard graduates can work for change in the future. I am very excited for his speech, as I think it will be inspiring and challenging to the Class of 2008 and beyond" said Anna M.F. McCallie '08.
Bernanke has a long and distinguished career in national and international finances. Prior to taking the lead role with the Federal Reserve, he was a member of its governing board for three years and, prior to that, served as a visiting scholar or in other advisory capacities at several of the regional Federal Reserve Banks.
Bernanke is no stranger to the classroom. His teaching career began in 1979 when he taught at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Later, he was a visiting professor of economics at both Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1989-90), where he also received his Ph.D. (1979), and at New York University (1993). He joined the Princeton University faculty in 1985 where he became a tenured professor in economics, and also served as department chairman.
In addition to his work with the Federal Reserve and in the academic arena, Bernanke has given talks and lectures around the world, and has written numerous papers and books on economics, including Essays on the Great Depression (2005), Macroeconomics, with Andrew B. Abel (2001), and Principles of Micro Economics, with Robert H. Frank (2007).
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