Chokshi family establishes professorship to further research endeavors, prepare UGA students
It started with a simple, unexpected postcard.
Raj Chokshi (MA ’94) had long dreamed of attending the University of Georgia but was unsure he’d qualify for admission. After beginning his college career at Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, he was considering transferring to another school in the region when that singular postcard showed up in his mailbox encouraging him to apply at UGA.
The rest was history.
“The first time I set foot on campus was the day I packed up my car and drove up to my dorm in Athens,” Chokshi laughs. “I had never visited the campus, but I was just so excited to be there. I knew I wanted to go to Georgia, and I knew I wanted to study accounting when I got there. It has been in my blood since middle school.”
Today, Chokshi is the CEO and Wealth Manager at Bluerock Wealth Management in Alpharetta. A graduate of the Terry College of Business’ J.M. Tull School of Accounting, Chokshi puts the skills and experiences he gained at UGA to work for his clients, crafting financial plans that point them on the pathway to success.
His successful career is partially why he and his wife Shruti generously gave to the College of Family and Consumer Sciences’ (FACS) Department of Financial Planning, Housing, and Economics to establish the Bluerock Professorship in Financial Planning. Designed to enhance the program’s ability to recruit and retain the brightest faculty and students to its award-winning financial planning program, it is the first professorship of its kind in FACS.
Its initial recipient is Swarn Chatterjee, whose research focuses on measuring the value of financial advice and determining the association between household financial decision-making and food insecurity. The Bluerock Professorship will enhance Chatterjee’s research endeavors and allow him to bring valuable insights and perspectives to the classes he teaches.
Giving back to UGA was important to Chokshi, as was his desire for his gift to make a difference for students on campus. Establishing a professorship offers greater study and research opportunities for FACS students.
“In the past five or so years I’ve been blessed enough to be able to give back,” he said. “Part of it is becoming mature enough to understand what an impact my gift can make to the university and how it can help the students. But I also believe that it’s important to give back because I believe the University of Georgia has helped me become as successful as I am today.”
Bulldogs believe in the promise of tomorrow. Professorships attract and retain high-caliber faculty to UGA—leaders in their fields who prepare students for successful careers and conduct research that improves lives.
