Ben S. Bernanke ’75, a former Winthrop House resident who wrote the top economics thesis in his undergraduate class, was sworn in as chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board of Governors on Wednesday morning after the Senate approved his nomination by a voice vote on Tuesday.

Bernanke’s ascent to the nation’s most influential economic policy post came as two other Harvard alumni were poised to join him on the Federal Reserve’s seven-member board.

On Tuesday, President Bush nominated Randall S. Kroszner, who received his Ph.D. in economics from Harvard in 1990, and Kevin M. Warsh, a 1995 Harvard Law School alumnus, to fill two vacancies on the board.

If Warsh and Kroszner are both confirmed by the Senate, Harvard alumni would comprise more than half of the board. The current vice chairman of the Fed, Roger W. Ferguson Jr. ’73 of Dunster House, holds four degrees from Harvard—an A.B., a J.D., an M.A., and a Ph.D. He is also a member of the Board of Overseers, Harvard’s advisory group.

The chairman of Harvard’s economics department, Ropes Professor of Political Economy Alberto F. Alesina, offered praise last night for Bernanke and Kroszner, both of whom he knows professionally. And Alesina said that he was not shocked to see so many Harvard alumni joining the Federal Reserve Board.

“Of course, it’s a bit of a coincidence, but it’s not surprising,” said Alesina. “Harvard produces great people.”

Bernanke’s Senate hearings and confirmation proceeded smoothly, staying below the radar as Washington focused instead on confirmation hearings for Bush’s nominees to the Supreme Court.

The New York Times reported that Sen. George Allen, R-Va., when asked for his opinion on Bernanke’s nomination, responded, “For what?” Informed that Bernanke had been nominated for the Fed chairmanship, Allen admitted that he had “paid no attention” to the hearings.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., also told the Times that he was unaware that Bernanke’s hearings had been completed.

Only one senator, Republican Jim Bunning of Kentucky, voted against Bernanke’s confirmation.

Bernanke’s qualifications helped him avoid a partisan debate, Alesina said.

“The confirmation went smoothly because he was clearly an excellent choice, a non-partisan choice,” Alesina said. “I think that if this president or any other president had someone who wasn’t up for the job...there would be controversy.”

—Staff writer Evan H. Jacobs can be reached at ehjacobs@fas.harvard.edu.