Marketplace Leader Bob Doll Speaks at Annual Gallup Lecture Series

DBU had the privilege of hosting Bob Doll on campus as the featured speaker for the annual Gallup Lecture Series. This series was inaugurated in 2003, was named after George Gallup Jr., and serves as a forum for distinguished scholars, public officials, and government leaders to share their insights with the University community.

An incredibly gifted and talented Christian leader in the marketplace, Doll has over 40 years of portfolio management expertise and has served as Chief Equity Strategist for both Nuveen Asset Management and BlackRock Investment Management Company. He was also President and Chief Investment Officer of Merrill-Lynch Investment Managers and is a Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst. He regularly appears on major news networks such as CNBC, Bloomberg TV, and Fox Business News to discuss the current economy and markets while serving on a number of boards and directing the choir at his local church.

“What is our response in the valleys of life?” Doll asked the student body during Monday’s University Chapel service. Discussing the topic of adversity, he implored students to turn to God “in the valleys and the mountaintops.” He discussed major times of adversity in his life and revealed the lessons God had taught him in those moments. Doll stated that he learned so much more of who God is and knows “that God is sovereign, in control, and has a better plan for my life.”

After the University Chapel service, the Lecture Series continued with a luncheon at which Doll addressed DBU faculty and staff. After commending them for “sending out young and emboldened Christians into the world,” Doll spoke briefly about the economic markets and trends that are a bright future for markets in the United States. Noting the need for Christian leaders on Wall Street, he encouraged DBU to continue their efforts of faith-integrated education.

Doll then shared with faculty and staff adversity that he has faced in his personal calling. “God is the only thing that will not fail us,” Doll stated. Referencing Isaiah 55, he listed three important steps to take while in adversity. “Mourn and grieve in the presence of God, remember God’s faithfulness, and entrust your situation to God Almighty.” These three steps, Doll explained, were the driving force behind his growth in relationship with the Lord in times of great adversity. “Are we able to bless the adversity, for God’s glory and our good?” Doll asked.

“The higher the issue that we put in God’s place, the bigger the downfall and disappointment,” Doll said, when discussing the dangers of making even good things idols. He continued in saying that it is never “God plus something will help me,” but that at all times, especially in adversity, it is “God alone will help me.”

In all the things he learned during adversity, Doll thanked God for giving him a greater compassion for people. “We are to love the Lord, and we are to love other people.” He challenged the DBU Family to keep the Lord first in all things, so that when adversity strikes, we are poised to give it all to God.

“Success is not a matter of ‘how do I do’, but ‘how am I being as I do,’” he concluded. “God cares much more about how we are being as opposed to how we do.”