Edward M. Gramlich
1939 – 2007

It is with profound sadness that we note the passing of Edward M. Gramlich, professor emeritus of economics and Richard Musgrave Collegiate Professor of Public Policy Emeritus, on September 5, 2007 in Washington, D.C, of leukemia. He was sixty-eight. Ned had most recently served the University as interim provost and executive vice president of academic affairs (2005-2006). He joined the Urban Institute after retiring from the active faculty in June, 2006. Prior to returning to campus in 2005, he was a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for eight years.

Ned was dean of the School of Public Policy from 1995-1997 and had also served as chair of the Department of Economics and director of the Institute of Public Policy Studies (the forerunner to what is now the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy). His expertise in macroeconomic and fiscal policy had led him to serve in several capacities with the federal government, including as both deputy director and acting director of the Congressional Budget Office. In addition, he chaired the Quadrennial Advisory Commission on Social Security from 1994-1996. He also served as staff director for the 1992 Economic Study Committee on Major League Baseball.

Ned joined the Federal Reserve as a research economist from 1965–1970 and was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution from 1973–1976. He was appointed to the Federal Reserve System by President Bill Clinton in 1997 where he served until 2005. While at the Federal Reserve, Ned chaired the board’s Committee on Consumer and Community Affairs. During his tenure the committee proposed, and the board adopted, important changes in the Home Owner Equity Protection Act and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. His published work includes books and papers on macroeconomics, budget policy, income redistribution, fiscal federalism, social security, and the economics of professional sports. “Subprime Mortgages: America's Latest Boom and Bust” published in June 2007 by the Urban Institute proposed solutions for the mortgage crisis. He was also formerly the chairman of the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation and was seen as an expert on subprime lending after his year as a banking regulator at the Federal Reserve.

Ned also served as chairman of the Air Transportation Stabilization Board which was created by Congress after the 9/11 attacks raised concerns about the survival of the U.S. airline industry. He chaired several other lesser-known stabilization boards created by Congress.
Dr. Gramlich received his B.A. in economics from Williams College in 1961 and his M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from Yale University in 1962 and 1965, respectively.

Ned Gramlich is survived by his wife, Ruth, two children and three grandchildren.

-- Department of Economics