WKU News

Recognizing the increased need for financial literacy among students and the community, the Gordon Ford College of Business has developed the Center for Financial Success, which was formally approved today by the WKU Board of Regents. This Center has been functioning as the Financial Success Initiative since 2011, assisting students, faculty, staff, and the community with personal financial needs. It is one of six Centers of Excellence housed in the GFCB.

The Center for Financial Success will aid the University as well as the regional community in becoming financially informed, financially independent, and financially responsible through faculty expertise and partnerships between the GFCB and financial entities such as Service One Credit Union and the Financial Planning Association of Kentuckiana. The Center’s three main programs will focus on individual financial counseling, community outreach, and professional development.

Andrew Head, director of the Center, intends to spend the fall semester increasing publicity and awareness of the activities of the Center.

"I expect to significantly expand our peer-to-peer counseling program and make presentations to campus and community groups," Head said. "We also intend to expand our community partnerships.

One of the partnerships Head has established with the Financial Planning Association of Kentuckiana will allow the Center to sponsor "Financial Planning Day" at the Carroll Knicely Center on Saturday, October 19. The event will be free to the public and allow the community to meet with a Certified Financial Planner and attend seminars on topics such as estate planning and the Affordable Care Act.

"The Center for Financial Success matches the applied mission of the Gordon Ford College of Business but goes beyond the confines of Grise Hall to engage the broader community and promises to positively impact Kentuckians all across the region," said Jeffrey Katz, Dean of the GFCB.