Cook was elected for a three-year term that will run through Dec. 31, 2024.

Cook started at MSU in 2005. She currently works as a professor in the Department of Economics in MSU’s College of Social Science and as a professor of international relations in MSU’s James Madison College but has also accomplished much outside of the university as well, establishing herself as a prominent economist in the United States.

Most recently, she has served on the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis board of directors.

In the past, she has been selected to serve on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ transition team where she assisted in reviewing agencies such as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Federal Reserve, the National Credit Union Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

She also held the position of senior economist at the President’s Council of Economic Advisers under the Obama administration.

In this role, she worked on the eurozone, financial instruments, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Additionally, under the Obama administration, she worked on the Obama-Biden presidential transition team where she led the review of the World Bank and International Affairs division of the Treasury Department.

On top of accomplishing so much economically, she also advocated for increased diversity and inclusion within the field of economics. 

Cook is the fourth Black economist to serve on the American Economic Association board in its 130-year history and she directed the board’s summer program for five years while it was hosted at MSU. The program creates opportunities in the field of economics for students from underrepresented backgrounds. 

Cook was recognized for all of her accomplishments by Fortune magazine as one of 19 Black economists to celebrate.