Retiring Faculty

Bill Kracaw retires as the David and Shirley Sykes Professor and longtime finance department chair. Bill taught several courses in the graduate and undergraduate programs including financial markets, institutions, and financial risk management. He published research on financial intermediation, corporate governance, risk management, and derivative securities markets in leading academic and professional journals, including several articles in the Journal of Finance. He also authored two books, Financial Risk Management, and Financial Institutions and Capital Markets and served on the editorial board of two academic journals and the board of directors of the Financial Management Association. His consulting practice included clients among commercial banks, investment banks, and government agencies. Over his lengthy tenure as department chair, Bill mentored dozens of faculty members and students. Many former and current faculty members, including the current department chair, owe their careers in large part to his mentorship and encouragement. He shall be greatly missed.

Greg Pierce retires as an Associate Teaching Professor. A lifelong Penn State advocate, Greg earned a BS in Electrical Engineering and his MBA at Penn State in 1974 and 1976, respectively. After several engineering and financial managements positions at Bechtel Power Corporation, Air Products and Chemicals, HRB Systems/Raytheon, and Licom Technologies, Inc., Greg returned to Penn State full-time in 1999. Over his time on the Smeal faculty, he taught several courses in the undergraduate program, including the entrance to major course, FIN 301. His record of successful students includes at least one alumnus who established a scholarship in his honor. Greg is a Fellow of both the Penn State Student Engagement Academy and the Penn State Teaching and Learning with Technology Group. We thank Greg for decades of service and wish him success with all future endeavors including his “Finance Coach” website.

Jim Miles retired as a Professor of Finance. Jim’s research focused on corporate finance, investments, and personal financial planning. An example research project measures the investment performance of families of mutual funds and links that performance to family characteristics including focus and level of expenses. His research on divestitures including spin-offs and equity carve-outs has been cited in the top finance journals and in virtually every major business publication including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Fortune, Forbes, and Money Magazine. Jim co-authored the text "Spin-offs and Equity Carve-outs" published by the Financial Executives Research Foundation.  In addition to several standard classes in the undergraduate and graduate programs, Jim created an online course about personal financial planning that served hundreds of Penn State students developing financial literacy. We thank Jim for decades of service and wish him well in retirement.