Founding member recalls origins of UTulsa's Friends of Finance

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Sep 11, 2024, 19:25 ET

TULSA, Okla., Sept. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The initial meeting was held at a sandwich shop just down the street from campus. Four decades later, Bob Prince shared how he and others founded The University of Tulsa's Friends of Finance organization.

Bob Prince answered questions during the monthly Friends of Finance luncheon at The University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Wednesday. Prince is an alumnus of UTulsa's Collins College of Business, one of the founders of the Friends of Finance and co-chief investment officer at Connecticut-based Bridgewater Associates. Friends of Finance is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2024-25.

Prince, along with Bruce Currie, Bob Harrison, and faculty members Mark Collins and Roger Bey, started Friends of Finance in 1985 as a way to support the Finance Department and strengthen its ties with alumni and the business community. The goal was to build a national reputation for the Finance Department and find people who would make a difference.

"When you start something – the thing I learned in business school – is you need a mission, right?" Prince, who is co-chief investment officer at Bridgewater Associates, said during his talk on campus Wednesday. "You need a mission statement. Bruce and I met at Big Al's sub shop … to work out a mission statement. We were there for about four or five hours getting this mission statement just right. I've always found it personally inspirational."

Prince participated in a fireside chat with T.D. Eureste, a vice president at ONEOK and current president of the Friends of Finance. Eureste thanked the 356 attendees for their continued support of the organization, which has raised millions of dollars for UTulsa's student-managed investment fund, the source of scholarships that have benefitted more than 200 business students.

Prince said the school's size is advantageous. "To have a small school with big-time activities and programs and sports is really unique," he said. "It is small but impactful."

He also spoke about his decades at Bridgewater, where he has worked since 1986. He has been a partner in all aspects of the investment process and products at the Connecticut-based asset management firm.

Roberta Preston, former CEO of Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma and current vice president of the Friends of Finance, said over the years, the organization has hosted speakers from world-renowned CEOs to professional athletes.

"People walk away learning something – and learning something they wouldn't have learned someplace else," she said. "We've got knowledge about industry, and you can tell that it's affecting people in their lives and their careers because they're coming back."

To learn more about Friends of Finance, membership and the prestigious speakers who will highlight the 40^th anniversary, visit utulsa.edu/fof.

SOURCE The University of Tulsa