Wendy Lee Gramm

Distinguished Alumnae Award Recipient, 1988

Ph.D. 1971 in economics, American Economist and former Chair of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission Gramm held several positions in President Ronald Reagan and President George W. Bush’s administrations, including executive director of the Presidential Task Force on Regulatory Relief, head of the White House Office of Management and Budget’s regulatory review office, director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Economics, head of the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) from 1985 to 1988, and head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from 1988 to 1993. After a lobbying campaign and President Bill Clinton’s election, she resigned from CFTC and took a seat on the Enron Board of Directors and served on Enron’s Audit Committee. Gramm also served as a director of the Independent Women’s Forum, a conservative women’s group, and sat on the boards of Iowa Beef Processors, INVESCO Funds, Longitude, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and State Farm Insurance Companies.