Lisa D Cook: A transformative experience
Speech by Ms Lisa D Cook, Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, at the 2024 Marshall Forum "A US-UK Strategic and Economic Dialogue",
Chicago, Illinois, 17 June 2024.
* * *
Thank you, John. And thank you to the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission and
the commissioners for this most extraordinary honor. To be mentioned alongside
previous Marshall Medal recipients, such as Secretary Madeleine Albright, Secretary
Colin Powell, Justice Stephen Breyer, and eminent political scientist and university
president Nan Keohane, is humbling. The distinction is especially meaningful to me,
because I have taken great pride in being a Marshall Scholar from the moment I was
selected during my senior year at Spelman College. In the years since, I have enjoyed
meeting and being inspired by Marshall Scholars throughout the country and around the
world. I also have enjoyed reviewing the applications of future Marshall Scholars, one
way in which I have taken seriously the responsibility to serve as an ambassador for the
program. I look forward to continuing to serve in such an ambassadorial role as a
Marshall Medal recipient. Again, I am beyond grateful to the Commission for the truly
humbling and thrilling honor.1
My Marshall experience completely changed my thinking about my life and career. The
people I met had many different interests and experiences and were preparing for
careers I had never heard of until I began my studies at the University of Oxford. I
relished learning more about British culture and immersing myself in one of the U.K.'s
and the world's storied universities. Likewise, I took pride in the fact that I could share
my ideas, culture, and experiences with others during my time as a Marshall Scholar,
and I forged strong friendships that endure to this day. Gaining a fuller understanding of
the friendship and respect between the U.S. and U.K., and the global importance of
these two economies and democracies, has held me in good stead for many years and
continues to be important in my current role as a member of the Federal Reserve's
Board of Governors.
In fact, I had my eyes on studying in Europe as far back as junior high school, when,
during Latin class, I dreamed of following the Appian Way and other Roman routes that
stretched from Britain to Israel to Morocco. I was eager to put my Girl Scout navigation
and itinerary-building skills to the test on another continent. My first taste of European
life came during my junior year abroad, when I won a Charles L. Merrill Scholarship to
study in Strasbourg, France. During spring break of that year, I purchased a student
Britrail pass and traveled to London, Southampton, and Stratford-upon-Avon. I met
students and other people from all over Europe throughout the year, and I had many
conversations on trains, ferries, and beaches, as well as in hostels and homes to which
I was invited. I was immensely grateful to be able to do so many things my parents
never had the opportunity to do, and I was eager to continue such experiences. As a
result, on the advice of my mentors at Spelman-Professors Ethel Githii, Margery Ganz,
and Lois Moreland-as well as the president at the time, Donald M. Stewart, I applied for
the Marshall Scholarship and was humbled to be the first Spelman student to receive it.
Transformative Experience
Reflecting on the essay I wrote for my Marshall application, I invoked Plato's allegory of
the cave from Book VII of the Republicto describe the transformation in my world view
that occurred during my junior year abroad when it was challenged almost daily. My
time as a Marshall Scholar would become the next phase of this ongoing transformation.
When I arrived in Oxford, I was excited and transfixed. The bucolic setting of Oxford
was conducive to learning and sharing ideas. As a philosophy major at Spelman and
long a student of Latin and the classics, I was incredulous that I had the chance to
study philosophy at Oxford with a tutor employing the Socratic method. It was a dream
come true. I lived with students from all over the world and made life-long friends. My
studies at Oxford shined a bit more light on the subject of economics, perhaps subtly
beginning the transformation to my eventual career. In my first (Michaelmas) term, I had
a tutorial in mathematical economics, only my third economics course ever. I learned a
lot, and I was surprised that I loved it! Maybe that should have been a hint? However, I
did not choose it as my concentration. I had to select two subjects out of the three from
philosophy, politics, and economics. I chose philosophy and politics, because I thought
economics was too much fun.
My most influential tutor, as we called our professors at Oxford, was philosopher of
mind and metaphysics Galen Strawson. Through my interactions with him, he helped
me answer the question, "How does one construct a thoughtful, systematic world
view?" After I completed my studies at Oxford, Galen also helped me hone further
academic pursuits and advised me on plans that ultimately led me to pursue a PhD in
economics. He was generous with his time and offered very useful advice in comparing
British and American economics programs.
Outside of my studies, I enjoyed participating in extracurricular activities that I did not
have the opportunity to participate in during high school or college. Those included the
Oxford Union, the debate society, and traveling through Italy, Greece, and the Middle
East during spring break of my first year. One of my favorite experiences at Oxford was
producing, acting in, and serving as the dialect coach for the performance of "For
Colored Girls-" by Ntozake Shange. I did so alongside my still very close friends,
Ambassador Susan Rice and Congresswoman Terri Sewell. It was sponsored by the
Oxford University Dramatic Society and presented in the historic Oscar Wilde Theatre
at Magdalen College. It was the first time "For Colored Girls-" was put on at Oxford,
because it was the first time there were six Black women to put it on! I helped actors
from Liverpool and Trinidad and Tobago (and some from the U.S.) learn regional
American accents. They joined four of us from the U.S. in the show, which included
singing the Aretha Franklin hit "Respect." We sold out every single show.
In addition to sharing American culture, I picked up on the cultural influences of the
British Isles. Songs from Irish rock band U2, such as "Pride (In the Name of Love)" and
"New Year's Day," seemed to constantly play in the background during my time at
Oxford. That exposure proved vital a few years later when I was teaching at Harvard
and two gentleman named Paul and David came to speak to my colleagues and me
about debt relief for highly indebted poor countries. Initially, I did not understand why
everyone was abuzz about these visitors, until someone whispered the familiar song
titles in my ear. Those words instantly transported me back to my time in Britain. I was,
of course, speaking to Bono and The Edge.
Lasting Bonds
While the U.S. and U.K. share close cultural bonds-look no further than James Bond,
Adele, Downton Abbey , Tom Jones, Monty Python , and Bridgerton -the relationship
between the two countries runs much deeper than that. The Marshall Scholarship has
its roots with George C. Marshall and the history-changing partnership between the U.
S. and U.K during World War II. It is easy to see why a long friendship has endured. We
share a language (for the most part!), a history, and a belief in democratic values. Our
close economic ties are one aspect of the U.S.-U.K. relationship that stands out. Our
countries feature two of the world's great financial centers and share other important
connections. The U.K. is the top destination of U.S. direct investment and is the
secondlargest source of direct investment into this country. The U.S. is the U.K.'s largest
trading partner, with 22 percent of U.K. exports heading here last year.
Our central banks have a close relationship as well. We at the Fed respect and work
with our counterparts at the Bank of England, including through the Bank for
International Settlements, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development, the G7, and the G20. Given our similar economic structures and banking
systems, there is always much to learn from each other to help ensure a resilient
financial system. Those efforts are especially important to me as I serve as chair of the
Board's Committee on Financial Stability. We know economic shocks tend to
reverberate around the world, so having clear and open communication with my fellow
central bankers plays a valuable part in assuring financial stability.
It has been wonderful to have the opportunity today to reflect on my time as a Marshall
Scholar and to consider how it more fully opened my eyes, allowing me to pursue my
career and my passions. As a girl from a small town in Georgia, I debated and
discussed ideas and issues during and outside of my tutorials that I had never done
before. I met people from many different parts of the U.K. and the world I had never
encountered before and who held views I had never heard articulated before. And that,
I think, is the very spirit of the Marshall Scholarship and the Marshall Medal: building
respect and understanding and strengthening the enduring friendship between our two
countries.
Once again, thank you so very much to the Marshall Commission for this honor. I am
most grateful and humbled to receive it.
1
The views expressed here are my own and are not necessarily those of my
colleagues on the Federal Reserve Board or the Federal Open Market Committee.