Austan Goolsbee, the U of C professor who heads President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, is returning home in time for the next school year.
The White House, which announced the move last night, isn't saying whether Goolsbee resigned or was forced out. His departure comes as Obama is wrestling with stubbornly high unemployment numbers as he gears up for his 2012 reelection campaign.
Goolsbee, a longtime friend of the president, served as Obama's economic advisor during his first U.S. Senate race. He also used to host a History Channel show on economics, and wrote the Economic Scene column for The New York Times.