Scott Quehl ’88 was nominated
for the position of “Chief Financial
Officer and Assistant Secretary of
Commerce for Administration” Oct.
15 in a press release from The White
House Office of the Press Secretary.
The appointment is subject to a hearing
and confirmation by the Senate.
In addition to Quehl, President
Obama nominated four others for
positions in defense, education, agriculture
and international relations.
In the same press release, the president
said that he “look[s] forward to
working with [the new appointees] in
the months and years ahead.”
If confirmed, Quehl will work
under the Secretary of Commerce,
Gary Locke. Locke is on Obama’s
cabinet and is eighth in the line of
the succession to the presidency.
Quehl was a government and
history major at Lawrence, and was
“an excellent student, hard working,
conscientious and bright … articulate
in expressing himself and quite
good in bringing in relevant data or
examples to throw light on different
theoretical and methodological
problems,” said Professor Emeritus
of Government Chong-Do Hah.
Quehl was also “liked very much
and also highly respected by other
students,” said Hah. Quehl’s interests
at Lawrence included comparative
politics, Russian history and
American foreign policy.
Hah noted that Quehl was
“strongly interested in public service,
domestic and international,” perhaps
why he ended up in the Peace Corps
in Honduras after his graduation Quehl’s other international
experience includes serving
as the country officer for the
Dominican Republic for the
World Bank, and co-managing
the creation of the Secondary
Education Project in the same
country. He has also consulted
the Colombian and Bolivian governments
on financial and management
decentralization.
Serving the federal government
will not be new to Quehl,
who worked in the Office of
Management and Budget,
Office of Federal Financial
Management during the Clinton
administration.
If he is appointed, Quehl
will be headquartered in
Washington. The CFO/ASA
controls the Commerce
Department’s financial and
human resources and facilities,
as well as creates and implements
administrative policies
and procedures for the department
and its operating units.
According to the U.S.
Department of Commerce’s Web
site, the CFO/ASA also “coordinates
implementation of government-
wide and Departmental
management initiatives.”
Quehl’s other professional
experience includes serving
as chief financial officer
of the Metropolitan Police
Department, managing director
for tax-exempt capital markets
at JP Morgan, and as managing
director at Public Financial
Management, Inc., advising several
state and local authorities
on management and budget
issues. He currently works as
president of Quehl Advisors,
LLC and as senior managing
director at the Public Resources
Advisory Group.
Obama nominates Scott Quehl ’88 for Department of Commerce position
