James W. Nordyke *59

Jim died at the age of 95 in La Paz, N.M., Oct. 31, 2025.

Born June 21, 1930, in Rock Springs, Wyo., Jim earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford in 1952. He began graduate work at Princeton, then left the University to serve as an intelligence specialist in the Army from 1953 to 1955. He completed his Ph.D. in economics in 1959.

Jim’s first academic appointment was at Kenyon, where he taught economics from 1958 to 1964. He then joined the economics faculty at New Mexico State University (NMSU), where he remained until retiring in 1992. He taught undergraduate and graduate students in elementary economics, the development of economic thought, and international economics. He assisted in establishing a master’s degree in economics at NMSU and was instrumental in starting the undergraduate major in international business. In 1973, he received NMSU’s Westhafer Award for excellence in teaching.

Jim’s doctoral dissertation, New York and International Finance, was published in 1976, and he co-authored a textbook, Comparative Economic Systems, which went through several editions in the 1970s.

Jim is survived by his long-time companion, Ingeborg Volpi; her son Wolf; and her daughters Ute and Gunda.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.