Patrick T. Harker has been named president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, the bank announced Monday.
Charles I. Plosser, who had been president and CEO retired effective March 1.
Harker, 56, is president of the University of Delaware and a member of the Philadelphia Fed's board of directors.
"We were fortunate to have an exceptional and wonderfully diverse slate of candidates and are delighted that Pat Harker emerged as the best person to serve as the next president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia," said James E. Nevels, chairman of the Philadelphia Fed's board of directors in a release. "His deep roots in the region, his distinguished career in academia, his drive for innovation, and his passion to make our region an economic engine for the future truly impressed our board."
About his new position, Harker stated, "As a lifelong native of the Third District, I am honored and excited to be asked to serve as the president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. I look forward to working with the Bank's dedicated staff to continue the Philadelphia Fed's vital service to the District and the nation."
In addition to serving as president of the University of Delaware, Harker is also a professor of business administration in the university's Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics and a professor of civil and environmental engineering in the university's College of Engineering.
Before joining the University of Delaware in July 2007, he was the dean of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Reliance Professor of Management and Private Enterprise. Before his appointment as dean in 2000, he was an interim dean and deputy dean, and he also acted as chair of the operations and information management department at Wharton.
In addition to his service on the Philadelphia Fed's board, Harker is on the board of directors of Pepco Holdings Inc., as well as the Huntsman Corp., and is a founding member of the board of advisors for Decision Lens, Inc. He is a member of the Regional Leadership Initiative Steering Committee at the Council on Competitiveness and a member of the Select Operating Committee of Select Greater Philadelphia.
Harker has a Ph.D. in civil and urban engineering, a master's degree in economics, and an M.S.E. and B.S.E. in civil engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
When he was named UPS Transportation Professor of the Private Sector in 1991, Harker became the youngest faculty member in Wharton's history to be awarded an endowed professorship. Harker has published or edited nine books and has written more than 100 professional articles. From 1996-1999, he served as editor-in-chief of the premier journal Operations Research.
Harker also served as a White House Fellow in 1991, and he served from 1991-1992 as a special assistant to FBI Director William S. Sessions. He was named a Fellow of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) in October 2012 and a Charter Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in December 2012.
