Glassman Announces Resignation

Cynthia Glassman, a Republican commissioner with the Securities and Exchange Commission, announced plans Monday to step down sometime after her term expires on June 5, as soon as the SEC finds her replacement.

Glassman joined the SEC in January 2002, at a time when the Commission began to grapple with the accounting and investment banking scandals, only to be followed by the mutual fund trading scandal.

"My term as SEC Commissioner has been the most exciting and fulfilling position of my career," Glassman said. "It has been a privilege to work with Chairman [Christopher] Cox, and his predecessors, Harvey Pitt and Bill Donaldson, as well as my fellow Commissioners. I am grateful to President Bush for the opportunity to serve investors in this role."

During her tenure, Glassman has championed investor education, enhanced disclosure and the increased use of economic and cost/benefit analysis in SEC rulemaking. Recently, she has been pushing for standardized Sarbanes Oxley rules. However, she was in the minority in voting against additional mutual fund and hedge fund regulation, and her votes have prompted opponents to legally challenge a number of these rules.

Prior to joining the SEC, Glassman worked for 12 years as an economist at the Federal Reserve. She did not indicate what she plans to do after she leaves, only to say that she plans to pursue new opportunities.

"Commissioner Glassman has been a stalwart proponent of investor protection, investor education and clear disclosure," said Cox. "Her perspective as an economist has been invaluable to me, ensuring that the agency's decisions are always based on a thorough examination of the economic consequences to investors and markets."

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