Greg Specht '73 has spent his entire professional career in real estate development and construction, including one college summer walking alongside a conveyer belt at the bottom of a gravel pit, putting rocks back on that had fallen off. "A University of Oregon alumnus gave me that job," he remembered.

Born and raised in Salem, Oregon, Specht attended the UO on a football scholarship, where he received first team All Pac-8 and All West Coast honors in 1972 as a wide receiver. He received his bachelor's degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance in 1973. Inspired by two classes in finance and investment, Specht decided to pursue a career based on his business education and from-the-ground-up experience.

After a short stint playing football for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1973, and the Portland Storm in the World Football League in 1974, Specht worked for Pioneer National Title Company (now Ticor Title) in Salem. In 1986, Specht joined Scherzer-Moore Partners, first as vice president of acquisition and development, and eventually as president of Scherzer Partners, Inc. In 1990, he formed Specht Properties and Specht Development.

"As opposed to Wall Street, investment in real estate is a tool for building communities, creating jobs and economic vitality, as well as building personal wealth," he said.

Specht also gives time to organizations such as the National Association of Industrial & Office Properties Board, Home Builders Association of Portland, the Board of Innovative Housing, Inc., and the Hearing and Speech Institute of Portland.