Economist Susan Collins appointed first Black president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston said Wednesday that it has chosen Susan M. Collins, an economist and administrator at the University of Michigan, as its next president.

The selection of Collins, who will become the first Black person to serve as president of the Boston Fed, has already been approved by the Fed's governing board. She is only the second Black American to be appointed a president of one of the Fed's 12 regional banks. In that role, Collins will have a vote on the Fed's interest rate decisions this year.

Those decisions will be particularly risky as the central bank seeks to tighten credit and combat high inflation without slowing the economy so much as to cause a recession.

Before assuming her role at Michigan, Collins, 63, also taught at Georgetown University and was a senior staff economist on the White House Council of Economic Advisers under President George H.W. Bush.

Collins, who will start July 1, replaces Eric Rosengren, who retired last year after 14 years as president. Rosengren stepped down for health reasons and after he had come under scrutiny for investments he made in real estate funds at the same time that the Fed was buying mortgage-backed bonds to stabilize financial markets.

After graduating at the top of her class from Harvard, Collins earned a Ph.D. in economics from MIT.

“Dr. Collins brings the technical expertise and insight to contribute to policymaking and the leadership ability to head the organization,” said Christina Paxson, president of Brown University and chair of the Boston Fed’s Board of Directors, who led the search for a new president. “She is deeply committed to serving the public, engaging with constituents, and advancing economic stability, opportunity, and prosperity."