In this oral history, David Ruder reflects on leaving his teaching position at Northwestern University School of Law to become Chairman of the SEC from 1987 to 1989. He discusses Black Monday and subsequent regulatory reforms as well as his post-SEC roles with the Mutual Fund Directors Forum, the Financial Accounting Foundation and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Mr. Ruder recorded a second oral history on November 28, 2018 in which he explains how he, Paul Gonson and Harvey Pitt worked together to establish the SEC Historical Society in 1999.