Pathways
by Katie Williard
Donald Keim ’75 teaches complex concepts of finance and economics as the John Neff Professor of Finance (now emeritus) at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
His 40-year career was sparked by a pivotal class at Bucknell — Cost Accounting with Professor Scott Cowen, management. “He opened up my eyes to how economics can be used in different ways,” Keim says.
Cowen (who went on to become president of Tulane University) also introduced Keim to the idea of pursuing higher degrees, which led Keim to earn his Ph.D. in finance and economics from the University of Chicago. There, he conducted research and studied with Nobel laureates Merton Miller; Myron Scholes, his mentor; and Eugene Fama, his dissertation adviser.
Keim went on to become known for his own notable research on investments, trading and trends; and carried on the legacy of the educators who directed him by teaching and advising more than 5,000 undergrad, MBA and Ph.D. students at Wharton and at INSEAD in France over the years. “If I hadn’t taken that cost accounting course, I may never have gotten interested in research and gone on to Chicago,” he says. “I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
photograph by douglas kilpatrick
Pathways
by Katie Williard
His 40-year career was sparked by a pivotal class at Bucknell — Cost Accounting with Professor Scott Cowen, management. “He opened up my eyes to how economics can be used in different ways,” Keim says.
Cowen (who went on to become president of Tulane University) also introduced Keim to the idea of pursuing higher degrees, which led Keim to earn his Ph.D. in finance and economics from the University of Chicago. There, he conducted research and studied with Nobel laureates Merton Miller; Myron Scholes, his mentor; and Eugene Fama, his dissertation adviser.
Keim went on to become known for his own notable research on investments, trading and trends; and carried on the legacy of the educators who directed him by teaching and advising more than 5,000 undergrad, MBA and Ph.D. students at Wharton and at INSEAD in France over the years. “If I hadn’t taken that cost accounting course, I may never have gotten interested in research and gone on to Chicago,” he says. “I wouldn’t be where I am today.”