Release: 5026-04
For Release: December 6, 2004

Sharon Brown-Hruska Sworn In To A Second Term As CFTC Commissioner

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Acting Chairman Sharon Brown-Hruska was sworn in today to a second term as Commissioner of the CFTC, the federal agency that regulates commodity futures and option trading in the United States. CFTC Commissioner Walter L. Lukken administered the oath of office.

Dr. Brown-Hruska was nominated for a second term as a Commissioner by President Bush on July 22, 2004, and confirmed by the Senate on November 21, 2004, to a term expiring April 13, 2009. Dr. Brown-Hruska has served as a CFTC Commissioner since August 7, 2002, and on July 24, 2004, she was designated by President Bush to serve as Acting Chairman of the CFTC. She continues to serve as Acting Chairman.

Prior to joining the CFTC, Dr. Brown-Hruska was an Assistant Professor of Finance in the School of Management at George Mason University. Prior to joining the faculty at George Mason University, she taught at Tulane University and Virginia Tech. Courses taught by Professor Brown-Hruska included Risk Management and Financial Innovation, International Finance, Venture Capital and Private Finance, Investments, and Financial Markets.

From 1990 to 1995, Dr. Brown-Hruska was a staff economist in the CFTC’s Division of Economic Analysis, where she conducted policy and technical research in the areas of anti-competitive behavior and market microstructure of futures, options, and derivatives markets.

Dr. Brown-Hruska has authored numerous scholarly papers and publications based on her extensive research in the areas of derivatives and market microstructure. In her writings, she has considered how differences in market structure and regulation affect market quality and the competitive environment in derivatives and their underlying asset markets.

A native of Winchester, Virginia, Dr. Brown-Hruska received her B.A. in economics and international studies in 1983, her M.A. in economics in 1988, and her Ph.D. in economics in 1994 from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.

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