International House Mourns the Passing of Paul A. Volcker

The Board of Trustees, Alumni, Residents and staff of International House mourn the passing of our colleague and friend, Paul A. Volcker, who served our institution for many years, including 14 years as Chairman of the International House Board of Trustees. Volcker was a towering figure in finance, known for his distinct style and his brave fiscal leadership during one of the country’s more difficult economic eras. In the course of his career, he worked in the Federal government for almost 30 years, serving high office under five presidents. He was a model of integrity who exemplified the I-House core value of moral courage, most notably through his controversial, yet ultimately successful, “brute force” campaign to tackle soaring inflation in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Later, in response to the 2008 financial crisis, he led the movement among lawmakers to restrict the power of big banks, which became known as the “Volcker Rule.” Here is a video tribute to Paul Volcker from 2012 celebrating “The Volcker Rule at International House” in which we thanked him for his service as Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Volcker believed very strongly in the mission of International House and its role in shaping the next global leaders. After his tenure as I-House Board Chair, he continued to serve I-House as an Honorary Trustee, and would often share his insights and experience with Residents and other members of the I-House community, even sponsoring a Speaker series. He spoke of his experience on several occasions at I-House, including an historic event in April of 2016 that brought together all four living Chairs of the U.S. Federal Reserve for a candid discussion with journalist, international affairs expert, and I-House Trustee Fareed Zakaria. Read more about the event here. We extend our condolences to his family and friends and to all who had the pleasure of working with him. More commemorations are in development and will be shared on I-House channels.