James W. McKie

James W. McKie Professor James W. McKie died on October 30, 2007, following a long illness. Dr. McKie was born June 18, 1922 and grew up in El Paso. Following graduation from high school, he arrived in Austin to attend the University of Texas, beginning a 70-year relationship with UT, as a student, graduate student, ex-student, professor, dean, department chair and, finally, professor emeritus. After receiving a bachelor’s degree from UT in 1943, Jim served stateside in the Army Air Corps, stationed at the Pentagon during the final years of WWII. Never far from his roots, he attended a New Year’s Eve party for Texans in Washington, D.C. in 1945, where he met (Alice) Catherine Wharton of Austin. They married two years later on Christmas Day, 1947. He received a Master’s degree from UT after the war in 1947, and then a second Master’s degree in Economics followed by a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1952. Dr. McKie taught economics at Williams College from 1951 to 1952, at Harvard from 1952 to 1954, and at Vanderbilt University from 1954 until 1970, when the call finally came to return to UT as Professor of Economics and Dean of the newly-formed College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. He later served as Chairman of the Department of Economics, and held the Edward Everett Hale Centennial Professor of Economics Chair. He was also recipient of the College of Liberal Arts Pro Bene Meritis award in 2002. Professionally, Dr. McKie served as President of the Southern Economic Association, Visiting Fellow of the Brookings Institution, and Visiting Professor at Harvard and at the University of California at Berkeley. He was for several years a member of Time magazine’s Board of Economic Advisors, and was the author of several books and numerous articles on economics. He is survived by his beloved wife of nearly 60 years, Catherine Wharton McKie, daughters Julia and Ellen of Austin, son David of Denver, and grandson Ian McCaul of Minneapolis. He loved good wine and fine scotch, music and books, travel, learning, and teaching. To all who knew and loved him, he was the epitome of integrity, dignity, and honesty. W.H. Auden said it best: "He was my North, my South, My East and West, my working week and my Sunday rest." He will be forever missed. A private cremation is planned, and at the request of the deceased there will be no public services. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Hospice Austin. Obituary and guestbook online at wcfish.com