Jerome Powell ’75, the Federal Reserve Chair, has been selected as Princeton’s Baccalaureate speaker, set for TKTKTKTK. In the past, Powell has clashed with President-elect Donald Trump and, most recently, has appeared in the news for saying he will not step down if Trump asks him to resign.
At Princeton, Powell studied politics and wrote a senior thesis titled “South Africa: Forces for Change,” and went on to earn a law degree from Georgetown University Law School.
He served as an assistant secretary and as under secretary for the Treasury Department under President George H.W. Bush, and later as a lawyer and investment banker in New York City. He has also served on the board of Princeton’s Bendheim Center for Finance.
He joined the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in 2012 and has held chairmanship of the board since 2018.
“I do think Powell is a good choice, given his prominent role leading our economy through the pandemic and associated economic turmoil, such as supply chain issues, housing, and inflation,” Christopher Catalano GS, Vice President of the Graduate Student Government (GSG), wrote to The Daily Princetonian.
Catalano currently serves as a member of the Governance Committee, one of the standing committees of the Council of the Princeton University Committee (CPUC). Although the Committee on Governance primarily “considers and investigates questions relating to the governing of the university,” it also consults with other committees regarding filling charter and term trustee vacancies and the awarding of Honorary Degrees. Moreover, the Governance Committee plays a role in selecting the Baccalaureate speaker every year. Catalano did not personally take part in the decision.
The ‘Prince’ reached out to other members of the CPUC Governance Committee and to Powell, but did not receive a response.
Seniors expressed positive sentiments regarding Powell’s selection as Baccalaureate speaker.
“He’s a really influential person in the economy and in politics, and I’m sure he will give an excellent speech,” Adam Sanders ’25 told the ‘Prince’ in an interview.
During his sophomore year, Sanders had the opportunity to meet with Powell as part of McGraw Seminar in Writing JRN 441: Telling Stories in Economic Inequality course, taught by Pallavi Gogoi, Ferris Professor in Journalism. Those who took the course were able to ask questions to Powell during an off-the-record Q&A session.
“Every speech [Powell] gives, people pay attention and make market trades based on his speeches,” Bracklinn Williams ’25 told the ‘Prince.’ “This is something people would pay huge amounts of money for … so it’s certainly funny for a bunch of little college kids [to get to listen to his speech].”
Williams is a captain of Princeton’s Federal Reserve Challenge Team. Recently, the Princeton team won the Federal Reserve Challenge. “It was a funny joke that [Powell] is only coming to campus because we won,” noted Williams.
“We [the Federal Reserve Challenge Team] spend all our time trying to think about the exact sort of issues [Powell] is thinking about,” Williams added. “I doubt he’ll make his actual Baccalaureate speech about ‘here’s how Princeton Fed Challenge can win next year too.’ Who knows, maybe he’ll mention it.”
Non-seniors also shared largely neutral or favorable reflections on Powell.
“I think he’s [been] generally regarded as fairly competent throughout his career as Federal Reserve chair, so I have a good opinion of him,” Daeun Kim ’28 wrote to the ‘Prince.’
“I think he’s also a good example for students regarding career paths,” Kim added. “He studied politics, so I think that helps people remember that you don’t always end up with the major you study and that there’s room to explore.”
“Powell’s selection definitely made an impression,” Ryan Divan ’28 wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “Despite his history of conflict with President Trump amid the aftermath of the election, I think he is a good choice.”
Powell has notably been at odds with president-elect Donald Trump, who is set to re-assume office in January. In 2018, Trump threatened to fire Powell and compared him to a “golfer who can’t putt.” Trump’s comments came after he personally elected Powell to the Federal Reserve Chair office. Trump went on to repeatedly blame the Federal Reserve for high inflation rates and the U.S. economy’s stagnant growth.
Recently, when asked about whether he would step down if Trump asked him to resign, Powell responded with a curt “no.”
Whether Powell will remain in office through the Baccalaureate address is yet to be seen, and for now does not plan to vacate office — at least not voluntarily.
“Not permitted under the law,” said Powell on whether a president could fire or demote him, indicating Powell’s continued belief in his right to remain as Federal Reserve Chair, new president or not.
“I always hope that these Baccalaureate speakers would have insights beyond their careers about what their lives have taught them about, what it means to be a good person … [and] what it means to go out into the world after Princeton,” Sanders said. “I hope that the Baccalaureate Day, far more than Class Day, is serious and introspective.”
Eojin Park is a News contributor for the ‘Prince’ from Seoul, South Korea.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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