
Don Kohn ’64 parlayed economics degree into 40-year public policy career at Federal Reserve

At the heart of Don Kohn ’64 is a desire to make life better for the public. At The College of Wooster, he discovered economics offered that path forward. He parlayed his economics degree and liberal arts education at Wooster into a doctoral degree in economics from the University of Michigan followed by a 40-year career with the Federal Reserve system and a post-Fed life that included a ten-year stint as a policymaker at the Bank of England, and a role at Brookings Institution, a public policy think tank.
“Public policy and how we can use economics to make life better for people is what attracted me to economics in my sophomore year,” Kohn said. He had taken several social science courses such as political science and sociology trying to decide what he wanted to major in. Within a few weeks of taking Introduction to Economics, he knew economics was his chosen major. “It was an organized way of thinking about one aspect of human behavior,” he said. “At Wooster and at Michigan, there was a lot of focus on how to construct public policies to benefit the public.”
He had grown up in Philadelphia with parents whose nonprofit jobs and formative years in the depression led to frequent dinner conversations centered on political issues and public policy. At Wooster, he was mentored by Richard Reimer, Wooster’s Hoge Professor of Economics from 1962 to 1996, whose economics lessons often revolved around applying economic principles to improve public wellbeing. Reimer, who also mentored him through I.S., provided that special relationship that is common between Wooster students and their academic advisor, which Kohn said gave him “a leg-up” as a graduate student. The weekly meetings with Reimer included discussions about his research and future that set the stage for Kohn moving forward. “He helped guide me to graduate school and then invited me back to Wooster’s campus from time to time to engage with students, which reminded me of the wonderful education I had and kept me connected to Wooster,” Kohn said.
His plan to attend graduate school was born out of an interest for staying in academia, he said. When he graduated from Michigan, he interviewed at some universities and the Federal Reserve, arguably America’s premier economic policy agency. He started at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in 1970, before joining the Federal Reserve Board of Governors’ staff, continuing his focus on monetary policy and financial markets. By 1986, he was charged with putting the monetary policy material together for the Federal Open Market Committee with a team of 80 people to produce the necessary data and analyses. Fourteen years later, he was made a special advisor to the board, which led to a call from the White House asking him to interview for the Board of Governors.
At Wooster and beyond, he aspired to be involved in public policy, but he never imagined he would end up on the Federal Reserve Board. Throughout his career, Kohn advised and interacted with some of the notable names at the Fed, including Alan Greenspan, Paul Volcker, and Ben Bernanke, who asked Kohn to be vice chair to help get through the economic crisis of 2008-09. “There was a lot on the line,” he said. “When how you advise the policymakers can change their actions and affect citizens, you’ve got to try as hard as you can to get it right.”
After retiring from the Federal Reserve system, Kohn spent 10 years on a financial policy committee at the Bank of England to make the United Kingdom financial system safer. The experience was “an enormous privilege and a lot of fun” that also resulted in one of his most prized honors among dozens—being named an honorary Commander of the British Empire.
As the Robert V. Roosa Chair in International Economics and a senior fellow in the economic studies program at the Brookings Institution, he writes papers and memos on monetary policy and financial stability and speaks on panels around the globe.
He also serves on The College of Wooster Board of Trustees, a role he cherishes for the opportunity to give back to his alma mater. “It’s a two-way street,” he said. “I get a lot whenever I come for a board meeting,” as a board member and an alumnus. He tries to bring his expertise to the board, primarily on the investment and resources committees, where he shares his financial and macro perspective. And he always tries to meet with economics students to talk about current issues and their I.S. projects.
“Wooster plays a unique role in liberal arts education,” he said, noting the role of alumni in keeping the College strong for the future. “I received a huge amount from my education, and I like the opportunity to be there for future students. We need people who bridge the world of business, and at Wooster, we develop students to become global leaders.”
Whenever he is on campus with the students, he urges them to consider giving back to the community. In a Wilson lecture on campus in 2005 he reflected: “I can tell you from personal experience that going to work each morning knowing that how well you do your job could affect the welfare of your fellow citizens can be a little scary, but it is also tremendously challenging and rewarding.”
Posted in Alumni, Homepage Featured on January 27, 2025.