Wheaton Resident Honored With Aurora University Leadership Award

AURORA, Ill.—David Eisinger of Wheaton received Aurora University’s 2008 Tony Olejnik Leadership Service Award at 115 th annual commencement ceremonies May 4.

Eisinger, AU vice president for finance, was honored for his leadership and commitment to excellence which shaped AU and the lives of AU students. Eisinger is returning to teaching at AU in the fall.

The Board of Trustees established the Leadership Service Award in 2003 to honor a member of the AU faculty or staff whose professional and personal life has embodied the core values of the university.

In 2004, the award was renamed for the late Olejnik, longtime AU and George Williams College faculty member and administrator who was a living example of integrity, citizenship, c ontinuous learning, and excellence.

Eisinger's citation and award were presented by Provost Andrew Manion. He said, “Aurora University recognizes and values David Eisinger’s wit, his collegiality, and his outstanding leadership of the financial management areas of the institution.

“He has the ability to demystify complex financial matters, manage competing interests, and boil down esoteric information into useful data, all while maintaining the primacy of the student experience as the university’s reason for being,” Manion said.

After 20 years of corporate experience, Eisinger joined AU in 2000 as assistant professor of finance. For two years, he taught courses in finance and economics, was a co-leader of the Dunham Scholars business-student group, and served on university committees.

His committee responsibilities included chair of the university governance and elections committee, the admissions committee for the Master of Business Administration program, nominating committee, and faculty search committees.

In January of 2003, he accepted the post of vice president finance, a two-year appointment that extended to nearly six years. His responsibilities included managing AU’s financial resources, including oversight of accounting, cash management, budgeting, and financing activities.

He also managed the service partners for food service, the copy center, and property maintenance. Recently, he led acquisition of the properties near the campus to move the AU master plan forward.

In the community, Eisinger has served on the DuPage County Historical Museum advisory board, and is an active St. Olaf College parent and alumnus.

He earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College and an MBA and a doctorate from Indiana University. While completing graduate degrees, he served as an IU teaching associate in the business department.

After receiving his doctorate, Eisinger worked as a general rate analyst for Northern Illinois Gas for three years. He then moved to Duff & Phelps Investment Research Company where he began as an analyst in 1982.

He became vice president of that company in 1987 and moved to the Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Co. in 1991, where he was senior vice president and managing director.

In 2000, after Fitch IBCA acquired Duff & Phelps, Eisinger became the group managing director where he oversaw the activities of the industrial, global power and telecommunications ratings group, and managed the process of identifying redundancies and integrating staffs.

His professional accomplishments include being awarded the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1985. He also is a member of the Association for Investment Management and Research, the American Economic Association and the Financial Management Association.

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