Greg Yess ’82 Invests in Students through Gift of Bloomberg Finance Lab

May 20, 2022

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – A tool used by leading business, investment and finance professionals
was unveiled at a dedication ceremony Thursday at Illinois Wesleyan University in
the form of a Bloomberg Finance Laboratory.

Located in Room 101 of State Farm Hall, the Bloomberg Lab includes 12 licensed terminals
and two live stock tickers. The facility was named The Greg Yess ’82 Bloomberg Finance
Lab after the alumnus and his wife Kari whose generous donation made the installation
possible.

Yess gave remarks – along with President Georgia Nugent and member of the IWU Portfolio
Management Advisory Board Corey Schieler ’97 – during the dedication ceremony at State
Farm Hall, followed by a tour of the lab and reception. 

“The world of finance has grown dramatically over the past two decades,” said Yess.
“It is a part of everything we think, see and do. Illinois Wesleyan has a great reputation
in all aspects of higher learning, and I wanted to make sure its students have access
to the best financial tools available. I believe the Bloomberg Finance Lab will help
provide those tools and be a real game-changer for their future careers.”

Considered the gold standard in the finance industry, the Bloomberg Terminal is a
computer software system that enables professionals in the financial service sector
to monitor and analyze real-time financial market data, news and research, powerful
analytics, communication tools and electronic trading capabilities.

“Greg has certainly been a leader in his chosen career in the finance industry and
he understands the need to develop outstanding talent, and that’s of course what we
do here at Illinois Wesleyan,” said Nugent. “He also recognized what it would mean
for our students to have access to Bloomberg terminals. That is truly going to be
distinctive for us.”

The lab offers space for instruction, training and research for students studying
accounting, business, finance and economics – even nursing majors can use the lab
to explore pharmaceutical industry information. Every finance major will receive training
to earn a Bloomberg Certificate upon graduation, a distinctive achievement for their
resume. 

The Bloomberg Finance Lab will be particularly useful for students in Illinois Wesleyan’s
portfolio management class, who manage nearly $4.5 million dollars of real money in consultation with the Alumni
Portfolio Management Advisory Board. 

“This Bloomberg Lab really will be an essential part of the business curriculum here
at Illinois Wesleyan. It’s going to add to the level of research and the depth of
knowledge these students will have,” said Schieler, who serves on the advisory board.
“The practical skills they will be able to take into their internships and future
careers is going to be really remarkable.”

Clay Anderson ’23 shared a presentation during the lab tour, highlighting his experience
using the Bloomberg Lab during portfolio management class during the spring 2022 semester. 

Prior to the lab’s installation, Anderson said a full class shared access to one Bloomberg
terminal in The Ames Library. 

“Having this open area with multiple terminals really allows for us to do as much
digging as we want, with more time to make in-depth analysis that can help better
the portfolio,” said Anderson. “It’s really great to see people giving back to the
students, believing in us and reinvesting in us so we can do the best we can when
we enter the workforce.” 

By Julia Perez