Michael Barr (Treasury official)

Michael S. Barr (born 1965/1966)[1] is an American attorney who served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions under President Barack Obama. Since leaving government, Barr has served as Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of Public Policy and the Frank Murphy Collegiate Professor of Public Policy at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. He is also the Roy F. and Jean Humphrey Proffitt Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School and faculty director of the University of Michigan's Center on Finance, Law, and Policy.[2][3]

Michael Barr
Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance
Acting
In office May 2009 – March 27, 2010
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Anthony Ryan (Acting)
Succeeded by	Jeffrey A. Goldstein
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions
In office May 2009 – January 2011
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	David Nason
Succeeded by	Cyrus Amir-Mokri
Personal details
Born	1965 or 1966 (age 54–55)[1]
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Hannah Smotrich
Children	3
Education	Yale University (BA, JD) Magdalen College, Oxford (MPhil)

Early life and education

Barr attended Yale College and graduated summa cum laude with honors in history in 1987.[4] At Yale, he won the New Prize for public service and the Gries Prize for his senior history thesis: "The Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa."[5] Barr went on to earn his M.Phil. in international relations in 1989 as a Rhodes Scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford.[6] His thesis was on U.S.-Panamanian relations.[7]

Barr returned to Yale Law School to earn a Juris Doctor in 1992.[8] He was co-recipient of the AILA Human Rights Award and recipient of the Charles G. Albom Prize for appellate advocacy during his time at Yale Law School.[9][10][11]

Career

Government

Upon graduating from Yale in 1992, Barr worked as a law clerk for the Honorable Pierre N. Leval in the U.S. District Court for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.[12] Barr moved to the U.S. Supreme Court to clerk for Associate Justice David Souter in 1993.[13] In 1994, Barr joined the policy planning staff of the United States Department of State as a special advisor and counselor.[14] From 1995-1997, he served as special assistant to Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin, and then as deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for community development policy from 1997-2001.[15] At the Treasury Department, Barr helped to design the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund and opened the Office of Community Development.[16][17] Barr concurrently served as special advisor to President Bill Clinton from 1999-2001.[18]

From 2009-2010, while on leave from the University of Michigan Law School, Barr returned to the Department of the Treasury as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions.[19] In this position, Barr was a key architect of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.[20] Barr played a central role in developing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and policies to expand access to capital for small businesses.[21] He also helped develop and enact the Credit CARD Act of 2009.[22] In 2010, Barr was awarded the Alexander Hamilton Award for Distinguished Leadership, the Treasury’s highest honor.[23] Barr was considered for a position on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in 2014[24] and as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2010.[25]

In November 2020, Barr was named a volunteer member of the Joe Biden presidential transition Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the United States Department of Treasury.[26] In January 2021, the Wall Street Journal reported that Biden was expected to pick Barr as Comptroller of the Currency.[27]

Academia

Upon returning to the University of Michigan, Barr established and directed the Center on Finance, Law, and Policy, a university-wide interdisciplinary research center on financial policy and regulation, financial products and services, and management of financial institutions.[28]

In 2015, Barr helped create the Entrepreneurs of Color Fund, which provides loan capital to minority entrepreneurs in Detroit.[29] He also co-founded the Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project (DNEP) at the University of Michigan in 2016.[30] The DNEP is an interdisciplinary clinic that connects students and faculty from the Law School, the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design, and the University of Michigan College of Engineering to help entrepreneurs develop their small businesses.[31]

On August 1, 2017, Barr began a five-year appointment as the Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of Public Policy at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.[2] He is a non-resident scholar at the Brookings Institution and serves as an advisor to the Clinton Global Initiative. He has served as a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. In 2014, Barr was named the Roy F. and Jean Humphrey Proffitt Professor of Law.[32]

During the 2020 Michigan graduate student strike for campus safety measures, Barr announced plans for strikebreaking in the Ford School in opposition to the strike.[33]

Political positions

While at the Department of the Treasury, Barr publicly opposed tougher derivatives regulations,[34] resulting in criticism from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.[24][35] Barr opposed what he saw as efforts to overturn financial regulations put in place by the Dodd–Frank act during American trade talks with the European Union. Barr has defended the legacy of former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, arguing that he helped "save this Nation, and the global economy, from another Great Depression."[36]

Personal life

Barr is married to graphic designer Hannah Smotrich,[1] with whom he has three children.[37] Barr has served as an advisor to multiple public policy organizations and initiatives, including the Brookings Institution, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Washington Center for Equitable Growth.[38] In addition to his academic work, Barr serves as a non-resident senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.[39]

References

1. "WEDDINGS; Michael Barr and Hannah Smotrich". The New York Times. 1993-08-23. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
2. "Michael S. Barr named dean of U-M's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy", fordschool.umich.edu, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, retrieved 2017-06-15
3. "Michael S. Barr faculty profile", fordschool.umich.edu, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, retrieved 2017-06-15
4. "Barr, Michael S. faculty profile", law.umich.edu, University of Michigan Law School
5. "Yale Student Paper Collection", library.yale.edu, Yale University Library
6. "Michael S. Barr Ford School appointment announcement", fordschool.umich.edu
7. "Michael S. Barr's University of Oxford Thesis", ox.ac.uk, University of Oxford Bodleian Library
8. "Michigan Law profile", law.umich.edu, University of Michigan Law School
9. Goldstein, Brandt (2006), "Storming the Court: How a Band of Law Students Fought the President--and Won", books.google.com, Simon and Schuster, ISBN 9781416535157
10. "Michael S. Barr Curriculum Vitae" (PDF), fordschool.umich.edu
11. "Arhur C. Helton Human Rights Award page", aila.org, American Immigration Lawyers Association
12. "Barr Brookings Institution profile", brookings.edu
13. "Michael Barr and Hannah Smotrich wedding announcement", nytimes.com
14. "Barr U-M Poverty Solutions profile", poverty.umich.edu
15. "Brookings Institution appointment announcement", brookings.edu
16. White, Ben; Weaver, Aubree Eliza. "The story on Michael Barr". POLITICO. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
17. "Michael Barr talks community development, consumer financial protection, and more | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy". fordschool.umich.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
18. "Michael S. Barr named dean of U-M's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy", fordschool.umich.edu, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
19. "CNBC Profile", www.cnbc.com, CNBC
20. "Key lieutenants behind scenes ensured passage of financial regulation overhaul", www.washingtonpost.com, The Washington Post
21. "Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is keeping banks in check", latimes.com, Los Angeles Times
22. "Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Michael Barr before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection", treasury.gov
23. Michael S. Barr CV (PDF)
24. Dayen, David (2014-06-03). "Obama's Next Fed Fight". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
25. Paletta, Damian (2010-08-03). "Consumer-Czar Candidate Waits in Wings". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
26. "Agency Review Teams". President-Elect Joe Biden. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
27. Restuccia, Andrew Ackerman and Andrew (2021-01-21). "WSJ News Exclusive | Biden Is Expected to Tap Michael Barr as Comptroller of the Currency". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
28. "About the Center on Finance, Law, and Policy", financelawpolicy.umich.edu
29. "Engines for growth: U-M faculty, students support Detroit entrepreneurs of color", fordschool.umich.edu, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
30. "New U-M Interdisciplinary Clinic Assists Detroit Entrepreneurs", financelawpolicy.umich.edu
31. "Center on Finance, Law, and Policy secures grant to assist Detroit entrepreneurs", fordschool.umich.edu, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
32. "U-M Regents Honor Michigan Law Faculty", law.umich.edu, University of Michigan Law School
33. Graham, Leah; Editor, Alex Harring Managing News; Editor, Daily News. "U-M deans push on with classes as graduate students strike". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved 2021-01-22.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
34. Brown, Carrie Budoff. "White House cool to derivatives ban". POLITICO. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
35. White, Ben. "Setting the record straight on Michael Barr — Cochran heads to runoff in MS — G-7 kicks off without Russia — Big day for econ data". POLITICO. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
36. School, Michael S. Barr, Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law (2013-01-25). "Barr: Tim Geithner's True Legacy". www.cnbc.com. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
37. "Michael S. Barr Confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Financial institutions". www.treasury.gov. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
38. "Michael S. Barr named dean of U-M's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy", fordschool.umich.edu, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
39. "Michael Barr Archives". Center for American Progress. Retrieved 2020-09-17.

External links

• Ford School faculty page
• Appearances on C-SPAN