Long-time supporters of Kansas State’s Department of Finance — Jeff Gates and Justin Boisseau — gave a special donation of $3 million to create the Gates Capital Management Center for Financial Analysis.
Gates graduated in 1984 and Boisseau in 1996, both with a degree in finance from the College of Business. The two are managing partners at Gates Capital Management, an investment company in New York City, New York.
The monetary gift will go to the Center for Financial Analysis housed in the K-State College of Business. Sabuhi Sardarli, associate professor and director of the Center for Finacial Analysis, said the donation will support and create opportunities for high-achieving finance students through mentorship, networking, training and scholarships.
“I’m thankful that Justin Boisseau and Jeff Gates like that vision and support that vision,” Sardarli said.
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The finance world is competitive, which makes it challenging for students to break into top jobs, Sardarli said. The Gates Capital Management Center for Financial Analysis offers resources to top-performing finance students, helping them find success during and after their time at K-State.
“We are thankful to be able to support Kansas State’s efforts to provide additional resources for students that demonstrate motivation,” Gates and Boisseau said in a joint statement. “To encourage students to look beyond immediate geographic opportunities, and to accelerate programs that help students get on the right path to attain their personal and professional potential.”
The Center for Financial Analysis is the newest center within the College of Business. Students typically join the center as a sophomore. The first cohort of students will start their senior year in the fall of 2021.
“We want our students to have the ability to impress anyone,” Sardarli said.
He pointed to educational trips and workshops as opportunities for students to elevate themselves as job candidates down the road.
All students in the cohort entering their senior year have earned an in-field internship for the summer. With the backing of Gates Capital Management, the center is prepared to send its first group of students out into the world of finance in less than a year.
