Dorothy Kelly / McIntire School of Commerce
Making Personal Finance More Personal
My goal in teaching Comm 2730 (Personal Finance) is to prepare students for life beyond college and help them become happy, productive, informed, and engaged citizens.
Comm 2730 is a 3-credit elective that introduces non-Comm students to personal finance with the goal of achieving financial well-being and reaching their full potential. The course brings together students from across Mr. Jefferson’s University to learn what today’s students sometimes call “adulting.” Topics include budgeting, taxes, employee benefits, credit/debt, insurance/risk mitigation, investing, diversification, life planning, and legacy planning. The diversity of students—from the College, the Batten School, the Engineering, Education, Architecture, and Nursing Schools—and breadth of topics opens the door to conversations about a broad range of topics that include career planning, life planning, legacy planning, tax policy, healthcare policy, and economic (both fiscal and monetary) policy. While the primary goal is to provide students with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to achieve financial well-being, my personal goal is to provide students with the knowledge, skills, abilities, and confidence to be informed citizens and leaders in their communities, willing and able to make informed decisions at home, at work, in their communities, and at the ballot box.
The adulting skills sought by the students focus on finances, but I strive to foster additional skills that will facilitate success after graduation, including speaking up in group settings, asking questions, questioning assumptions, and discussing the costs and benefits of different approaches or policies.
My dream is to spend time outside of class getting to know all 200 students enrolled in Comm 2730 during the 2024-25 academic year on a deeper personal level to encourage engagement and support their personal development. I am particularly interested in the opportunity to engage with and support the quiet, shy, reserved students who are reticent to speak up in class. The Mead Dream Fund will provide the means for out-of-class gatherings that will give all students in Comm 2730 the opportunity and confidence to speak up—over a meal, in class, and in their communities after graduation.
I propose a series of weekly events to connect with students on a deeper and more personal level, support them as they transition from student to employed and self-supporting graduate, and encourage them to be engaged citizens and leaders in their communities. The weekly series of events each semester will include:
Breakfast/Brunch Bunch: Meet for breakfast to discuss students’ hopes, dreams, and post-graduate plans on or near Grounds. (Groups of 4-6 students.)
Money Talks: Gather with groups of 4-6 students to talk about their preferred money topic or questions about money over lunch or tea/coffee on or near Grounds.
Well-Being Walks: Meet for walks around Grounds and/or through the UVA Botanical Garden with picnic/coffee/tea/beverage. (Groups of 4-6 students.)
Budget:
Estimated students for the 2024-25 academic year (50 students per section per semester): 200
Estimated breakfast/brunch/lunch cost per person including tax and tips: $25
Total: $5,000