In Memoriam

James B. Elkins, a faculty associate in the Department of Finance, died May 26 at age 76. Elkins enjoyed a long career in finance as a founding partner of Elkins/McSherry, an institutional brokerage house based in New York that specialized in trading cost analyses for pension funds, asset managers, banks, and global exchanges.

Elkins is perhaps best known for the creation of the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) measure as a trading target while working as head trader at Abel Noser in 1984. The VWAP remains in use today. He joined W. P. Carey in 2015.

Elkins’ Trading in Financial Securities course was typically filled and met with rave reviews. “His greatest joy in retirement was in teaching and mentoring all of his students at W. P. Carey,” says his wife, Doray.

The impact of Elkins’ teaching is apparent from individual student comments in end-of-semester reviews, as well as the numerous emails and phone calls that continued well after a semester ended. He will be remembered for his dedication to students and his passion for financial markets.

1983
Stephen Long
BS Computer Information Systems

1984
Teresa M. Meyer
BS Accountancy

1985
Jeffrey Austin
BS Business Administration

Arthur G. Doglione
BS Computer Information Systems

1989
Russell Bentley
BS Transportation

1990
Patrick Gunderman
BS Accountancy

1994
Jack Fegler
BS Computer Information Systems

1995
Steven Lowe
BS Finance

1999
Jennifer L. Lyon
BS Management

2005
Jacob A. Murphy
BS Economics

2006
Amy Eversman
BS Marketing

Robert J. Felten
BS Business Administration

2012
James Millstein
BA Business (Urban Policy)

James B. Elkins, a faculty associate in the Department of Finance, died May 26 at age 76. Elkins enjoyed a long career in finance as a founding partner of Elkins/McSherry, an institutional brokerage house based in New York that specialized in trading cost analyses for pension funds, asset managers, banks, and global exchanges.

Elkins is perhaps best known for the creation of the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) measure as a trading target while working as head trader at Abel Noser in 1984. The VWAP remains in use today. He joined W. P. Carey in 2015.

Elkins’ Trading in Financial Securities course was typically filled and met with rave reviews. “His greatest joy in retirement was in teaching and mentoring all of his students at W. P. Carey,” says his wife, Doray.

The impact of Elkins’ teaching is apparent from individual student comments in end-of-semester reviews, as well as the numerous emails and phone calls that continued well after a semester ended. He will be remembered for his dedication to students and his passion for financial markets.