Patrick T. Harker

Patrick T. Harker served as the 11th president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia from July 1, 2015 until his retirement in 2025. In this role, Harker participated on the Federal Open Market Committee, which formulates the nation's monetary policy.

Harker was born in Camden, New Jersey. He has a PhD in civil and urban engineering, an MA in economics, and an MSE and BSE in civil engineering, all from the University of Pennsylvania.

Before taking office at the Philadelphia Fed, Harker served as the 26th president of the University of Delaware. He was also a professor of business administration at the university's Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics and a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the College of Engineering. Harker was also a nonbanking Class B director of the Philadelphia Fed from 2012 to 2015.

Before joining the University of Delaware in 2007, Harker was dean and Reliance Professor of Management and Private Enterprise at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to being appointed dean in 2000, Harker served as the Wharton School's interim dean and deputy dean as well as the chair of its operations and information management department. In 1991, he was the youngest faculty member in Wharton's history to be awarded an endowed professorship as UPS Transportation Professor of the Private Sector. He has published/edited nine books and more than 100 professional articles. From 1996 to 1999, he served as editor-in-chief of the journal Operations Research.

In 2012, Harker was named a fellow of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) and a charter fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. He was also named a White House Fellow in 1991 by President H.W. Bush in 1991 and served as a special assistant to FBI Director William S. Sessions from 1991-1992. 

Harker retired June 30, 2025.

Written by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and updated July 1, 2025. See disclaimer and update policy.