Wall Street Dreams

Kaela Frenchman ’24 drinks coffee every day. She thinks it’s one of the most boring, run-of-the-mill, nondescript facts about herself (someone who also happens to be a Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll student-athlete).

But to her business and economics professor, Frenchman’s java ritual was a way to break the ice.

“Every time I came to class, he would ask me about my coffee,” Frenchman said. “That’s how he got to know us. He asked us to tell him the most boring fact about us and it was his way of connecting to us. He was a listener, and I really valued that about him.”

Scott Deacle was anything but boring. The late Ursinus College professor—known to treasure his own morning cup of coffee—brought an unbridled enthusiasm to work every day that was reflected in each of his students. He was the Hawaiian shirt-clad, meticulously organized, ice-cream loving, numbers-crunching economics expert belovingly referred to by his last name.

And he had a dream.

Deacle unexpectedly passed away at age 47 on May 5, 2023. One year later, his legacy is being cemented at Ursinus through the establishment of a new “trading lab” on the second floor of the Myrin Library. The space is adorned with 12 Bloomberg terminals, which are interactive workstations that allow students to receive and analyze real-time financial data and earn Bloomberg finance certifications that give them an unparalleled advantage in graduate school and in the workforce.

Wall Street on Main Street.

From l-r, Kieran MacDonough ’24, Evan Coffey ’24, and Kaela Frenchman ’24 don Hawaiian shirts to honor their late professor,Scott Deacle.

Deacle was instrumental in bringing a finance major to Ursinus. He helped establish the student-run Ursinus College Investment Management Company (UCIMCO) and the college’s women’s investment club. But he had long envisioned a trading lab on campus to complement and enhance his students’ undergraduate education.

“I think there was an aura around that old-school Wall Street for him,” said Evan Coffey ’24, the inaugural recipient of the Scott Deacle Memorial Endowed Scholarship. “Complete with the ticker tape. He was always in the weeds, crunching the numbers. And he wanted us to have a home base.”

While Ursinus joins more than 1,000 academic institutions across the globe outfitted with Bloomberg terminals, there are few liberal arts colleges among them.

“It gives our students a leg up, and when they graduate, they’ll have Ursinus credentials and Bloomberg credentials. It will only make their experience here more powerful,” said Jennifer VanGilder, professor and chair of business and economics.

The new trading lab isn’t just for finance majors. Capturing the spirit of an Ursinus education, it truly is a multidisciplinary venture, and students from any major can use the lab to gain one of three Bloomberg certifications. The e-learning courses expose students to financial markets, related career paths, and principles of sustainable investing.

“It allows, for example, an English major who might one day write about the industry become more well-versed in the finance world,” VanGilder said. “We have the opportunity to integrate this into all academic disciplines so that any student who wants to be Bloomberg certified can gain this experience. Understanding the market is important no matter what you’re studying.”

It’s exactly what Deacle had envisioned.

Prof. Scott Deacle (far left) annually brought students to New York City. His dream was to bring Bloomberg terminals to Ursinus.

Johnny Myers ’19, who worked with Deacle on building UCIMCO, said it wasn’t uncommon for Deacle to work “under the radar” on these passion projects.

“Everyone I spoke to knew how much Dr. Deacle worked on getting these terminals on campus,” Myers said. “He would speak to anyone he could about … how much they would impact the student experience.”

When it came to his students, Deacle was fully invested (no pun intended). Sure, he wanted to connect by learning a “boring” fact about each of his students on the first day of classes, but that merely scratched the surface on exemplifying his level of commitment to helping students realize their potential and become comfortable in a challenging field of study.

“He was thoughtful,” Frenchman said. “He really pushed me to become involved, first in UCIMCO and then also with the women’s fund, and he vouched for me as a leader because it is a male-dominated major and industry. It was amazing to always have him in my corner.”

Like Frenchman and Coffey, Kieran MacDonough ’24 has already benefitted from the Bloomberg technology, completing certifications this spring. It was the culmination of semesters of hard work inspired by Deacle’s mentorship.

“He took the time to bring me into it and he challenged me,” MacDonough said. “And everything we did together just felt more special because he pushed you to that higher level.”

Coffey added, “He had this great way of guiding students to find their niche. He made us feel like we belonged in this space as much as anyone else.”

Ultimately, the Bloomberg terminals will move to another existing space on campus that will be reimagined as a trading floor, complete with a stock market ticker. And through partnerships and sponsorships, there is an opportunity to gain more terminals.

“I want it to be called the Deacle Trading Lab,” VanGilder said. “A collaborative learning space where students can work together and do research—a space where you can really feel the energy. I think that would speak to how passionate he was.”

A space to enjoy a cup of coffee, talk shop, and seek out mentorship opportunities for which Deacle was known.

“And we could frame a Hawaiian shirt and put it on the wall,” Coffey said. “Just like hanging a sports jersey in the rafters.”

A dream fulfilled. One that is anything but boring.