Rowan University receives $10 million to establish School of Financial Planning

Ric Edelman has spent decades in the field of financial planning, earning national acclaim for his work and leading the largest independent financial planning firm in the country.

Now, he plans to teach what he learned as the founding leader of a new School of Financial Planning at Rowan University. The company he founded, Edelman Financial Engines, has pledged $10 million to establish the school, Rowan announced Thursday.

The new school will start offering classes this fall and will include both undergraduate and graduate courses and prepare students to earn a certified financial planner designation, the school said.

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The move comes as the nation faces a shortage of 100,000 financial advisers within the next decade and as millions approach retirement, university officials said.

Edelman, a Rowan alumnus who still serves on the board and is the largest shareholder of the Boston-based firm he and his wife, Jean, started in 1986, is currently a distinguished lecturer and an executive-in-residence at Rowan’s business college. Jean Edelman is a Rowan trustee and an alumna.

Rowan officials said they hope the university can become a leader in financial planning education, which they said fewer than 200 colleges offer.

Rowan president Ali Houshmand said at a news conference that higher education needs to bring more professionals into the classroom to teach.

“I’m so excited that we are really starting to do education in the right way by the people who have experimented, who have done it, and they can bring it to the class and pass it to the students,” he said.

Ric Edelman has been named the nation’s top independent financial adviser three times by Barron’s and is in its hall of fame. He will help develop the school’s curriculum and teach in the program, which will be based at Business Hall on the Glassboro campus.

“They always used to say that old joke … ‘those who can’t do, teach,’” Edelman said. “I think we phrase it as ‘those who did it, teach.’”

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The Edelmans have long been major donors to Rowan. They gave $25 million to help fund the Edelman Fossil Park and Museum of Rowan University, which opened last year. They also donated $10 million to fund scholarships for students who are strong academic performers and come from low-income families. Rowan’s College of Communication and Creative Arts and its planetarium also bear his name.

The couple both graduated from Rowan when it was Glassboro State College, he in 1980 and she in 1981. She grew up in Cranbury, N.J., and got her degree in consumer economics, and he grew up in Cherry Hill and got his degree in communications.

Ric Edelman has written 14 books, most recently The Truth About College: The Essential Guide for Parents and Teens ― So You Can Make the Right Choice Together, and he also has had a podcast series on the topic.

He was Rowan‘s commencement speaker in 2024.

“We care very much about the development and growth of the university and the opportunities that it’s affording students, particularly in the South Jersey region,” Ric Edelman said.