Susan M. Phillips
Dean and Professor of Finance
The George Washington University
School of Business
Susan M. Phillips joined The George Washington University School of Business as Dean and Professor of Finance in July 1998. Previously, she was a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from December 1991 through June 1998. Before her Federal Reserve appointment, Dr. Phillips served as Vice President for Finance and University Services and Professor of Finance in The College of Business Administration at the University of Iowa (1987 to 1991).
Dr. Phillips‘ areas of specialization include monetary policy, regulation and supervision of financial institutions, derivatives, financial management and economic theory of regulation. She is a member of the State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company’s Board of Directors. She also serves on the boards of directors of the Kroger Company, the Chicago Board Options Exchange, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB), and the National Futures Association as well as the Financial Accounting Foundation’s board of trustees. As a member of AACSB International’s Board of Directors, she chaired the AACSB Ethics Education Task Force from 2003 to 2004.
Dr. Phillips earned a B.A. in mathematics from Agnes Scott College in 1967, a M.S. in finance and insurance from Louisiana State University (LSU) in 1971, and a Ph.D. in finance and economics from LSU in 1973.
Dr. Phillips was an Assistant Professor at LSU from 1973 to 1974. She joined the University of Iowa in 1974 as an Assistant Professor of Business Administration. From 1976 to 1977, she was a Brookings Economic Policy Fellow, and spent the following year as a SEC Economic Fellow with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Dr. Phillips returned to the University of Iowa in 1978 as an Assistant Professor. She was appointed Acting Assistant Vice President for Finance and University Services in 1979, and served in that post until her selection as Associate Vice President for Finance and University Services in 1980.
In 1981, Dr. Phillips was appointed to membership on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and became its Chairman in 1983. She was reappointed as Commissioner and Chairman of the CFTC in 1985 and served until her resignation in 1987 when she returned to the University of Iowa as Vice President.
She has won several awards for her research, including the Chicago Board Options Exchange Pomerance Prize for outstanding research in options in 1980, and has authored dozens of scholarly publications, including The SEC and the Public Interest, a book co-written with J. Richard Zecher. She contributes regularly to The International Economy. Other honors and awards include Phi Beta Kappa, Agnes Scott College; Beta Gamma Sigma, Louisiana State University; Outstanding Alumna Award, Agnes Scott College; Hall of Distinction, LSU Alumni Association and separately LSU College of Business Administration; and Futures Hall of Fame, Futures Industry Association.