The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis announced Thursday that its longtime president and CEO, James Bullard, has stepped down in his official capacity and will soon head to Purdue University.

The bank said in a press release that Bullard will stay on as an adviser until Aug. 14, when he leaves to become the inaugural dean of Purdue's Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. School of Business.

"It has been both a privilege and an honor to be part of the St. Louis Fed for the last 33 years, including serving as its president for the last 15 years," Bullard said in a statement, adding, "The Bank is well-positioned for ongoing success and impact."

Purdue noted in its separate announcement that Bullard is the longest-serving sitting Federal Reserve Bank president, and he was named the seventh-most influential economist in the world in 2014.

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The chair of the St. Louis Fed's board of directors, Jim McKelvey Jr., heaped praise on Bullard in the departure announcement.

"Jim Bullard has brought his scholarly expertise and often prescient views to the policy table as the Fed navigated several remarkable economic issues during his 15 years as St. Louis Fed president: the Great Recession, the zero lower bound, high unemployment, the COVID pandemic and the current high inflation," McKelvey said. "His commitment to outreach and transparency has been unwavering."

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The bank said McKelvey and the board's deputy chair, Carolyn Chism Hardy, will lead a search committee made up of the six bank directors who are not linked to regulated financial institutions that will be tasked with finding Bullard's replacement.

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"We have our work cut out for us," McKelvey said. "Replacing such a special talent will require a special process, so we will be conducting an open, public search for our next great leader."