In a third floor suite in the Lundquist College of Business, undergraduate members of the University of Oregon Investment Group are gaining the sharp edge of experience by analyzing markets and investing $1.2 million in real, live money. Now, that opportunity—and many more—will be around for generations of students to come.

With a new significant gift, longtime UO donors Marilyn and Gerry Cameron have ensured that the college's Finance and Securities Analysis Center has a long-term, stable source of funding. It will enable the center to create more networking with practitioners, provide summer research funding for faculty members, and grow scholarships that can attract highly qualified MBA and doctoral students. In sum, it's a big boost in helping prepare students to step right into industry leadership roles upon graduation.

“I'm speechless," said Michele Henney, PhD '94, program manager for the center since 2011. “This is a fabulous, generous gift from the Camerons. Long-term, it's game changing. Just as valuable, it's a great connection for our students to see how they're being supported by two amazing people."

Now named the Marilyn C. and Gerry B. Cameron Center for Finance and Securities Analysis, its programs serve students through a balanced emphasis on finance and accounting, real-world practice in investing, courses that include projects for real companies, travel to the nation's finance capitals, and seminars with well-placed alumni in the financial, banking, and investment industries.

The center's work is timely, Henney says, because trends in the industry are creating opportunities for skilled, customer-facing jobs in corporate finance, wealth management, credit analysis, and sustainable enterprises.

“We can place just about every graduate we can produce," Henney says.

Gerry Cameron attended the UO through a work-study scholarship from U.S. Bank. “If it hadn't been for that scholarship I never could have gone to college," he recalls. “No question about it."

That scholarship led to Cameron's 43-year banking career, rising to become chairman and CEO of U.S. Bancorp in the mid 1990s.

He became a trustee of the UO Foundation in 2000 and served as president from 2004-05. With Marilyn he has endowed Presidential and Dean's Scholarships and the Gerry and Marilyn Cameron Chair in Finance, currently held by Diane Del Guercio.

“We're exceedingly proud of the kinds of things the University of Oregon does to enhance the education of so many students," Gerry Cameron says. “It makes this a greater community for us all to live in."

James Terborg, interim dean of the Lundquist College, thanked the Camerons for such a far-reaching, transformative gift.

“Marilyn and Gerry have once again made a personal, inspiring, and incredible commitment to young people and our college," he says. “Their backing of the Finance and Securities Analysis Center will support faculty research and result in even greater opportunities for our students to gain confidence, experience, and sharpen their skills."

Story by George Evano, originally appeared on giving.uoregon.edu