Chatterjee named first recipient of Redwood Professorship

Swarn Chatterjee, a professor in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences department of financial planning, housing and consumer economics, has been named the first recipient of the Redwood Professorship in Financial Planning, effective Aug. 1.

The professorship was established by Raj and Shruti Chokshi to enhance the program’s ability to recruit and retain the brightest faculty and students to the award-winning and growing financial planning program.

It is the first endowed professorship intended specifically for the financial planning program.

Chatterjee, who was named the college’s Bill and June Flatt Outstanding Teacher of the Year in 2018, has been at UGA since 2007 and has received multiple awards for both research and teaching.

His research focuses on measuring the value of financial advice and determining the association between household financial decision-making and food insecurity.

“Swarn’s impressive body of research has made contributions to the field of financial planning at the theoretical and conceptual level, as well as methodological and applied domains,” FHCE department head Sheri Worthy said. “His research demonstrates he has worked diligently with his colleagues to conduct cutting edge, high quality research in the field of consumer finance and produced results to inform public policy makers, industry practitioners and consumer finance researchers. Also, his development of courses in the area of behavioral finance and behavioral investment counseling serve as a model for other human sciences based financial planning programs.”

Chatterjee is a prolific author with 38 peer-reviewed articles and two book chapters to his credit, and he has secured more than $4.5 million in external funding.

“I want to thank Raj and Redwood Wealth Management for this significant investment in our financial planning program,” Chatterjee said. “Establishment of the Redwood Professorship helps us reach another important milestone as we establish the FACS financial planning program as one of the nation’s premier programs.  I am honored to become the Redwood Professor in Financial Planning and am also grateful to my colleagues in the financial planning program, Dr. Worthy and Dean Fox for providing me with this wonderful opportunity.”

Raj Chokshi is founder and partner of Redwood Wealth Management in Alpharetta. He received a degree in accounting from the UGA Terry College of Business in 1994 and completed a Master’s of Business Administration degree from Georgia State University in 2001.

A longtime supporter of the FACS financial planning program, Chokshi said he is excited about the future of the program. Two of the 14 financial planning professionals at Redwood are recent FACS graduates.

“We see this as an opportunity to make a lasting and important impact on a program we believe in,” he said, “while elevating the program’s reputation and prominence.”