NBER Director Kathleen B. Cooper, who had been serving as the Board's Vice Chairman, has been confirmed as Undersecretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs. Director-at-large Michael H. Moskow, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, will succeed Cooper as Vice Chair.

Cooper was most recently chief economist and manager of the economics and energy division of Exxon Mobil Corporation in Irving, Texas. Before joining Exxon, she was executive vice president and chief economist at Security Pacific Bank. Cooper received her undergraduate and masters degrees from the University of Texas and her Ph.D. from the University of Colorado.

Moskow had been teaching at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management just prior to becoming President of the Chicago Fed in 1994. He began his career teaching economics and management, served in a number of senior government positions from 1969 to 1977, then joined the private sector where he held a number of senior management positions for more than a decade.

Moskow received his undergraduate degree from Lafayette College and his Ph. D. from the University of Pennsylvania.