Chaffin joins Iowa State’s Financial Counseling and Planning Program

AMES, Iowa – Nationally-recognized researcher, innovator, and educator, Charles Chaffin, will join Iowa State University’s College of Health and Human Sciences financial counseling and planning program as  professor of practice.

“We know the far-reaching, positive impact financial stability has on individuals and families,” said Ruth Whip Sherwin Professor in financial counseling and planning, Jonathan Fox. “Dr. Chaffin brings us the ability to share our work with industry partners, while documenting the effectiveness of financial planning as an effective intervention for families. His expertise in the psychology of financial planning and adult education matches the latest developments in the field. Effectiveness in personal financial management is fundamentally linked to our habits and behaviors. Dr. Chaffin is the nationally recognized expert in connecting human behavior to the financial plan itself.”

Chaffin has authored/edited seven different books related to the psychology of financial planning as well as areas of cognitive psychology that impact individual’s attention and productivity. He co-authored two books this year in the Psychology of Financial Planning. He also co-founded the Psychology of Financial Planning Specialist™ and Affirming Advisor™ programs that are designed to help practitioners. In the first year, the programs have enrolled close to 5,000 advisors in 12 countries.

Chaffin is based in New York and routinely consults with financial firms about ways they can build stronger client relationships and help their clients stick to their financial plan. The Psychology of Financial Planning curriculum that he co-developed has been adopted by over 80 colleges and universities worldwide.

He is also founder of PROLIFIC, a series of on-demand and in-person programs that help companies of all kinds manage distractions in their daily work and become more productive and innovative. He authored Numb: How the Information age dulls our senses and how we can get them back in 2021, published by Wiley.

Previously, he served as Director of Academic Initiatives at CFP Board, leading educational and research activities.

“I could not be happier to join the faculty at Iowa State,” said Chaffin. “The College of Health and Human Sciences and the Department of Human Development and Family Studies are uniquely situated at a crossroads of financial planning and educational and cognitive psychology, providing opportunities for innovative research and instruction on both the psychology of financial planning as well as factors that impact our attention in our daily life.”

Chaffin begins his role this fall.

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