James Bullard Photo/website of St. Louis Fed

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard, an influential voice who called for aggressive interest-rate hikes to fight the recent inflation surge, resigned after 15 years in the position to become dean of a university business school.

Bullard, 62, stepped down from his post as head of the bank effective Thursday. He will fully depart Aug. 14 to become the inaugural dean of the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business at Purdue University, the St. Louis Fed said in a statement Thursday.

He will not take part in the policy deliberations or the rate-setting decision at the Federal Open Market Committee's meeting on July 25-26, according to a statement from the St. Louis Fed.

Bullard, who is 62 years old, is a few years away from the mandatory retirement age of 65. He did not give any indication before announcing his resignation, so this decision has surprised many industry insiders.

According to public information, Bullard worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis for 33 years and served as the regional Fed president during the 2008 financial crisis. He has experienced financial crises, economic recessions, quantitative easing, the COVID-19 pandemic, and aggressive interest rate hikes. His qualifications are the deepest among the current regional Fed presidents.

Derek Tang, economist with LH Meyer/Monetary Policy Analytics said that Bullard's resignation will weaken the hawkish voice, while his dovish colleagues who like to speak out will have greater influence, such as Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee.