KathleenCooper

Kathleen B. Cooper is Senior Fellow at SMU’s John G. Tower Center for Public Policy and International Relations.  Over her career, she has served in a variety of posts -- Under Secretary for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Commerce Department, Chief Economist for the Exxon Mobil Corporation, Executive Vice President and Chief Economist of Security Pacific National Bank, and Dean of the College of Business at the University of North Texas. Dr. Cooper served as director of Deutsche Bank Trust Company of the Americas, director and former chair of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and as director of the Williams Companies, an energy infrastructure company.  Kathleen has held positions as president of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) and the U.S. Association for Energy Economics, chair of the American Bankers Association’s Economic Advisory Committee, and founding director of Texas Security Bank. 

Dr. Cooper has served as director of a broad range of community organizations during her career and has been honored for her service and contributions.  One honor of special note is the Commerce Department’s prestigious William C. Redfield Award, which was granted due to the legacy of achievements during her four-year tenure as Under Secretary of Commerce. She remains an active member of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York and holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Colorado.