Don Gher met his wife Mary at Eastern in 1971.

Recently, the Gher’s made a donation to their alma mater.

The Gher’s made a gift naming the data display board within the Securities Analysis Center in the School of Business.

Gher said that his fond memories of Eastern were part of the reason he and his wife made the donation to the School of Business.

“Mary and I have a fondness for EIU, as we met there in 1971,” Gher said.

Gher said he and his wife wanted to ‘give back’ to help recognize that the investment business was extremely good to his family.

Gher earned a bachelor’s degree in business with a marketing major in 1973.

He retired last June at 55 years old as managing director and chief investment officer from a Bellevue, Washington company he co-founded named Coldstream Capital Management. He remains on the board and is a significant shareholder in the company, which is a firm for high net worth individuals and manages about $1.2 billion.

“I decided I had worked for my wallet all of my life, and it was now time to work for my soul,” Gher said.

James Jordan-Wagner, Chair of the School of Business, said it seemed natural to them to give back to the university after a successful career in the securities field by supporting a program that will help students both personally and professionally.

Jordan-Wagner said the Securities Analysis Center is a room designed to give students hands-on training in the techniques used in valuing securities and in portfolio management in a similar environment to that found in professional money management.

Students have a chance to both use the skills taught in other classes and further their knowledge of securities markets in a hands-on environment, Jordan-Wagner said.

“There is sometimes a big difference between ‘knowing’ and ‘doing.’ In this facility, students get a chance to ‘do,'” he said.

Supported by the university and donations from the Business Advisory Board and other supporters, the Center opened in March 2006.

Jordan-Wagner said the fund for the Center began operating in February 2003.

“(The fund) is an outgrowth of the Student Investment Society, which manages a separate portfolio of gift funds,” he said.

The Security Analysis Center has the same analytical tools and data sources that are used in financial markets around the world, and students take the responsibility for the management of a small portfolio provided by the EIU Foundation, Jordan-Wagner said.

The Eastern Foundation contributes $100,000 of its $42 million endowment for use in the portfolio.

“EIU is fortunate enough to have one of a very small number of these state-of-the-art facilities,” he said.

Jordan-Wagner said they have had inquiries and visits from interested business schools up to 8,000 miles away since there are fewer than 200 of these facilities worldwide.

The Center provides a great environment to learn about the way that the financial markets operate for any student interested in a career in that area.

“Students have a chance to use some of the same tools that are used on Wall Street and experience the daily ups and downs of the market,” he said.

Jordan-Wagner said students who have been through the program have an advantage in the job market because they are familiar with the analytical tools. He stressed that hands-on experience is relatively rare in new graduates, especially undergraduates, giving these students the advantage.

Jordan-Wagner said he hopes the experience gained in the Center will help the students become better investors and prepare better for the financial issues they will face throughout life.

“Even if a student’s interest is elsewhere, with defined benefit pension plans on the

decline, people will have to be more involved and informed about their investments for retirement,” he said.

Gher said he has been involved in several Eastern boards, and rather than just attend a meeting, he tried to spend time in the classrooms. He was on campus during Homecoming in October and was able to speak to the Investment Class in the Security Analysis Center.

His advice for students: “dream big.” Coming from the small town of Allendale, Gher said he was able to compete and win against the likes of graduates from Ivy League schools and big name Business School graduates after graduating from Eastern.

“Who would have thought that little country boy from southern Illinois could enjoy that type of success and live that type of life? Certainly not me!” Gher said.

Sara Cuadrado may be reached at 581-7942 or at slcuadrado@eiu.edu.

Justin Wright, senior financing major, works on a project in the Securities Analysis Center, located in Lumpkin Hall School of Business. The boards allow for an interesting way for students to learn about financial market. (Karla Browning/The Daily Easter

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