Athens, Ga. – The financial planning, housing and consumer economics department within the University of Georgia College of Family and Consumer Sciences has received a $50,000 grant from TD Ameritrade Institutional to support further growth of its nationally recognized financial planning program.
FHCE professors John Grable and Joe Goetz were presented the award on Monday in New York, where they also assisted in ringing the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange alongside Tom Nally, president of TD Ameritrade Institutional.
The grant is intended to support the development of innovative programs that increase the ranks of talented scholars entering the financial planning profession and help ensure graduates are better prepared for success in the workplace.
The FHCE department will use the money to build a Financial Communication and Training Lab where students can strengthen their networking, communication, marketing and other skills.
The award also will endow a revolving “practitioner in residence” selected from local financial advisers who will mentor students and provide practitioner-based seminars.
“The TD Ameritrade grant will have an immediate impact on the lives of students studying financial planning at UGA,” Grable said. “We will now be able to forge closer links with financial planners through the practitioner in residence program. The opportunity for students to interact with America’s leading planners will provide students a unique learning experience.”
According to a TD Ameritrade Institutional release, the job growth rate for the financial planning profession is nearly twice that of other occupations. The partnership between TD Ameritrade and UGA will help increase the number of students studying financial planning.
Earlier this year, the department announced the establishment of an online master’s degree in financial planning.
For information about the TD Ameritrade Institutional NextGen Scholarships and Grant Program, see http://www.tdainstitutional.com/lp/nextgen-scholarship.page.
