.:history:.
In May 1996 the Governor of Texas, George W. Bush, dedicated the Center. When it opened for classes in Fall 1996 the Center was the only college campus facility of its kind. Former Dean George W. Gau was the founding director. His vision was to create a state-of-the-art trading, research and teaching facility. Its goal was to help the academic and business communities understand the growing flow of financial data, assess its impact on financial markets and enable them to participate in the development of new applications of information technology to finance. Dr. Gau translated his vision for the facility into reality by enlisting the support of numerous corporate sponsors.
The lead sponsor for the initial development of the Center was Electronic Data Systems (EDS). EDS contributed funds to cover a substantial portion of the construction costs, provided personnel to assist in design and secured in-kind support to integrate the widely varying data sources and technologies. In total, an additional forty corporate partners donated equipment and services. Additional funds were donated by Center Trustees, a group of leading investment banking and financial service firms who funded the Center’s annual operations until 2001. A total of over $6 million in funding and equipment was contributed to the creation of the EDS Financial Trading and Technology Center. Currently it is valued in excess of $10 million.
Originally the center consisted of the trading room (5 work stations), the classroom (38 work stations) and the technology showcase room. During the summer of 1999, the first major equipment upgrade was completed. Workstations and other equipment in the trading and class rooms were replaced, incorporating the latest technology.
In January 2000 Dr. Gau resigned as director to accept a variety of other challenges. He appointed Dr. Beverly Hadaway as his successor. While the goal of the Center remained unchanged, new opportunities for achieving it emerged.
After six years of operations the first major renovation of the facility began. Funding for the undertaking was provided through a generous endowment initiated by two of the founders of the AIM Management Group, Gary Crum and Bob Graham. In addition, numerous employees of the AIM Management Group contributed to the endowment.
Plans called for a complete remake of the trading room consistent with the donor’s corporate image. Goals of the project included increasing the number of work stations, expanding the meeting facilities available to the fund managers and providing more storage space. Of course, the latest technology was incorporated in the renovated facilities. The trading room was redesigned to accommodate six workstations, fitted with four flat screen plasma TVs and equipped with the latest hardware and software. A small conference room, with video conference capabilities, was created in the space formerly known as the technology showcase area. Finally, the focal point of the renovation is a seventy foot curved ticker, proving stock quotes and news headlines to the McCombs Business School community. A ribbon cutting ceremony officially opened the renovated AIM trading and conference rooms on October 10, 2002.
Faculty and students served by the Center enjoy a state of the art facility supported by the most accurate and timely data resources and analytical tools available. Further, each year the Center is host to numerous visitors and sponsors events focused on local community education. Since its inception the center has been the model for similar trading and classroom facilities developed on campuses across the country and around the world.
