The Private Sector Comes Through

The private sector scores again, sharing their success. Crain's:

A University of Chicago alumnus who founded two futures trading firms has donated $20 million to his alma mater to beef up its physical sciences division.

William Eckhardt earned his master’s degree in mathematics from U of C in 1970 and later founded two Chicago-based trading firms. He is currently president and CEO of Eckhardt Trading Co., which he founded in 1991.

“My contribution to the University of Chicago is an investment in science, in the future, in the understanding of our world,” Mr. Eckhardt said in a statement.

More from the U of C:

University of Chicago scholars have traditionally taken pride in breaking through academic boundaries to get at the solutions to challenging problems. That approach paid off for Chicago futures trader William Eckhardt, SM ’70, who studied mathematics and philosophy as a graduate student at the University.

“That helped in my business because I found myself in a position where I had to invent a theory of trade. This really hadn’t happened before,” says Eckhardt, who received his master’s degree in mathematics from the University in 1970.

U of C professor Roger Myerson recently won a Nobel prize in economics for his work on efficient markets. Maybe Durbin and the clueless Dems should take a class or two. That includes you Barack.

In other U of C news, their highly regarded medical school is pairing up with Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, which is a boon for the North Shore.