David Nanigian was recently selected as the new Director of Education for the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards
In 2010, David Nanigian received his Ph.D. in Personal Financial Planning (PFP) from Texas Tech University. Earlier this spring, Nanigian was named the next Director of Education for the Certified Financial Planner™ Board of Standards (CFP Board).
The CFP Board grants the CFP® certification to community members working in financial services. The Board also upholds a recognized standard of excellence for competent and ethical personal financial planning. As the Director of Education, Nanigian will use skills learned from the PFP program to manage CFP Board programs and uphold the mission of the board.
“The Director of Education is responsible for managing the registered program functions with the purpose of upholding CFP Board's initial certification and renewal requirements, supporting organizational growth objectives for CFP board registered programs, and ensuring a competitive and relevant education program that facilitates the growth of CFP® certificants,” Nanigian said.
Nanigian says that his financial planning degree has helped prepare him for his current role at San Diego State University and his upcoming role at the CFP Board. Texas Tech's Personal Financial Planning doctoral degree allows individuals to learn skills from distinguished professionals and gain expertise through specialized aspects, including retirement planning, financial counseling, risk management, and tax planning. Students also have the opportunity for practical, hands-on and mentorship in teaching and research.
“The strong research skills and competencies that I attained through my doctoral studies at Texas Tech have prepared me well for my faculty role at San Diego State University, as it is commonly recognized alongside Texas Tech as one of the nation's top public research universities,” Nanigian said. “I believe that the responsiveness of Texas Tech's Personal Financial Planning Program to the needs of the workforce has prepared me well for the position as Director of Education that I will begin at CFP Board next month.”
Nanigian chose the PFP doctoral program because he desired to acquire the skills and knowledge to conduct academic research on topics that are relevant to personal financial planners. He says he would recommend the Personal Financial Planning degree because of its national reputation for excellence. The program also gives students the opportunity to work with realistic financial planning programs and situations.
“I'd recommend the PFP program to anyone who is eager to learn how to perform academic research on topics that are of practical relevance to personal financial planners,” Nanigian said. “What stands out to me the most about Texas Tech's PFP program is its unique ability to ‘bridge the gap' between academia and industry through delivering education that is both rigorous and practically relevant.”
In his new position, Nanigian will use the skills and knowledge learned from his time in the Texas Tech PFP program. He says he likes getting to use his experiences to teach others how to become financial planners. Nanigian enjoys getting to see the individuals he has helped doing great things in the workforce to help their clients prepare for brighter financial futures.