Celebrating Dewey Daane

Legendary stories abound about Dewey Daane, the Frank K. Houston Professor of Finance at Owen. We use pictures to tell some of them in a salute to Daane.

From the Summer 2014 edition of Vanderbilt Business

By | Departments

On December 16, 2013, the Federal Reserve celebrated turning 100. The commemoration featured past and present chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, board governors, officers and various dignitaries. Chief among the noteworthy—although he’d never claim such an honor himself—was Owen’s own J. Dewey Daane, the Frank K. Houston Professor of Finance, Emeritus.

Several speechmakers that day remarked on his presence and noted that Daane is nearly as old as the Fed itself. Dewey Daane, 95, knows more about the Fed than almost anyone else. After serving at the U.S. Treasury Department, Daane was first appointed to the Federal Reserve Board by President John F. Kennedy in November 1963 shortly before Kennedy’s death. He came to Vanderbilt in 1974 as the Frank K. Houston Chair in Banking and Finance in the fledgling Graduate School of Management, and Owen is honored that he has never left.

Accounts of Daane’s influential career in public service, at the Fed and in academia are matched only by legendary tales of his adventures and zest for life. On the eve of his 96th birthday, Vanderbilt Business is pleased to salute the remarkable Dewey Daane.

100 Years and the Fed

Group photo from Fed's 100th
Daane, first row, third from right, during the Federal Reserve’s 100th anniversary commemoration.

Washington years and impact

President Ford and Dewey Dane
In the Oval Office with President Gerald Ford, August 1974.
Dewey Daane, Julian Baird and Robert Anderson
Before going to the Federal Reserve, Dewey Daane worked for the U.S. Treasury Department. Here he is being sworn in by Under Secretary of the Treasury Julian Baird and Treasury Secretary Robert Anderson.
Daane in Mercedes
Daane with his beloved SL190 Mercedes convertible, bought new in 1962, and parked in his usual spot by the gate behind the Treasury Building. He had picked up the brand-new car in Paris and driven it through the country to the coast. He and the Mercedes then sailed across the ocean to the U.S. He still has the now-classic car.
Dewey Daane and LBJ
Daane was honored with the U.S. Treasury’s Alexander Hamilton Award, its highest honor. He was presented it by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1963
Dewey Daane and Fed officials
Daane (far right) at a Fed press conference with Paul Volcker, Arthur Burns and George Shultz during the Nixon years.

At Owen and at play

Dewey Daane
The professor in his office at Owen in 1979.
Dewey Daane teaching
In action in the classroom, 2008.
Dewey in tennis attire
In 1988, Daane’s wife, Barbara, threw a black-tie tennis tournament to celebrate his 70th birthday. Tennis has always been one of Daane’s passions.