Journey to Excellence: Personal Financial Planning

PART 2: Tribute to Personal Financial Planning's History

Over the years, the Department of Personal Financial Planning (PFP) at Texas Tech University has become an establishment of excellence in education for past, current, and future financial planners. With its long history comes a sense of pride that members of the PFP family are proud to wear across the nation. Events like Opportunity Days provide the opportunity to reconnect and celebrate the steps to create today's successful program.

Personal Financial Planning Department Chair Vickie Hampton, Ph.D., CFP® says that faculty members often showcase their students at numerous regional and national conferences, to enrich the program's national ties to the industry.

"The secret to success is graduating students who are well educated with a great work ethic, and then making financial advisors across the nation aware that we have these valuable graduates who they can hire," Dr. Hampton said.

Led by William "Bill" Gustafson, Ph.D., in 1985 the faculty laid the foundation for what we now know as the Personal Financial Planning department from what started out as majors in Family Financial Planning and Family Finance with 2 minors offered in finance.

Texas Tech's PFP program became one of the first 20 university programs registered by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards in 1986 and 1987. By that time, the program earned its International Board of Standards and Practices for Certified Financial Planners (IBCFP) registration for the bachelor's and master's degree offerings.

Quickly gaining momentum, the program hired Brigham Young University's Jerry Mason who brought national attention to the sprouting program through student presence at the International Association for Financial Planning Conference (IAFP) in 1990.

In 1996, Bill Gustafson joined together a new initiative by the program to extend research and outreach opportunities for financial planners across the country through the Center for Financial Responsibility.

"Texas Tech has created financial planning educational opportunities that no other university can duplicate," Bill said. "We wanted to designate the center for the purpose of helping professionals with their retirement decisions."

In 2000 the program took a bold leap by registering for the country's first Ph.D. degree in Personal Financial Planning, also adding dual graduate degrees in law and business. Being the only certified program to offer degrees up to the doctorate level, the program stands out for its dedication to creating financial planners with leadership and expertise.

Graduates are investing back in to the industry through teaching roles at universities across the country. Using Texas Tech's PFP program as a model, many are also extending their expertise to the nation by establishing similar PFP degree programs at other universities.

By 2005, the program was selected as the site to house the Archives for the History of Financial Planning within the Southwest Collections, Texas Tech University's special collections library. This initiative, supported by the Financial Planning Association® (FPA®), National Endowment for Financial Education, CFP Board and the Personal Financial Planning department, are responsible for acquiring and preserving items of historical significance to the financial planning profession.

On behalf of Schwab Institutional, the Charles Schwab Foundation provided the program with a large grant to establish the Charles Schwab Technology Complex in 2009. This complex houses the largest collection of professional software in any collegiate financial planning program in the country. The facility houses state-of-the-art classrooms, technology work lab, and resource workspaces for all undergraduate and graduate PFP students.

Looking to extend its community outreach efforts, the Retirement Planning and Living Research Initiative was established in 2013. This initiative focuses on the financial, psychological, social, cognitive, and physical transitions associated with retirement. Its goal is to conduct and promote scholarship that facilitates the development of science-based practices that enhance retirement planning.

After years of dedication and investment into the program, graduates from Texas Tech's Department of Personal Financial Planning have maintained over a 94% job placement rate. Students enter the work force having competed nationally among industry peers, with a reputation for developing advanced skills in financial planning.

As one of the nation's best financial planning programs, there is no stopping the reach of the Texas Tech University Personal Financial Planning family. Most faculty are active in industry research with alumni who serve as great leaders of the profession. Students who choose Texas Tech for their financial planning degree can have the confidence that they will learn from the best at an institution invested in the development of its students.

Click here to go back and read Part 1 of the Journey to Excellence series.

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