The Chief Justice of the United States chairs the Center’s Board, which by statute also includes two circuit judges, three district judges, one bankruptcy judge, and one magistrate judge who are elected to four-year terms by the Judicial Conference of the United States, and the director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, who serves ex officio. The Board oversees the Center’s activities, and its members serve on standing committees on education and research and on advisory committees on judicial education programs. The statute requires the Center's Board to submit an annual report to the Judicial Conference, and copies of all reports and recommendations submitted to the Conference must also be sent to Congress and to the Attorney General. See a compilation of all Board members of the Federal Judicial Center, 1968-present.

The first meeting of the board was held in Washington, D.C., on March 2, 1968, with all members present:

Chief Justice Earl Warren, Supreme Court of the United States

Judge Wade H. McCree, Jr., Sixth Circuit

Judge James M. Carter, Ninth Circuit

Judge Edward J. Devitt, D. Minnesota

Judge William A. McRae, Jr., S.D. Florida

Judge Harold R. Tyler, Jr., S.D. New York

Ernest C. Friesen, Jr., Director, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts

Read more about the Center's Board and its responsibilities in the Center's statute.