Speaking Updates & Ph.D. Fellowship Opportunity at The American College

I started the day in New York City. This morning I joined Joe Tomlinson and Dirk Cotton for a MarketWatch panel discussion with Bob Powell.  Marketwatch will be producing some stories and videos about that event over the next couple months. As well, Joe, Dirk, and I enjoyed our own little Algonquin Round Table at the Algonquin Hotel last night. We had a good discussion about bond ladders for retirement, and came away with some research ideas for comparing bond funds and bond ladders in retirement. 

Academy of Financial Services

The Annual Meeting for the Academy of Financial Services will be held in Nashville tomorrow and Friday, October 16 & 17. For anyone in Nashville, it looks to be a good event with lots of folks from the retirement income research world. Michael Kitces, David Blanchett, and Joe Tomlinson will all be there, for instance.  I'm also filling in as a last minute replacement for Larry Kotlikoff to deliver the luncheon keynote address, and I'll be speaking on "Toward Best Practices in Retirement Income Planning." 

Speaking of research...

Ph.D. Fellowship at The American College

The Ph.D. Program in Financial and Retirement Planning is currently progressing along well, with three cohorts of students working their way through the program. This is a distance-based program with live webinar classes and a few one-week residencies. So students are located all over the United States. Thanks to a generous donation from two former executives at New York Life, there is a doctoral fellowship available for a student in the program. The idea for the fellowship is to spend about 20 hours per week conducting research in exchange for program tuition being covered, as well as a $30,000 per year stipend.  

We have been struggling to fill this position, on account that all of the current Ph.D. students also work as full-time financial planners and cannot devote an extra 20 hours per week beyond their already rigorous Ph.D. studies. This fellowship could be attractive to a young person just finishing their bachelors or masters degree in financial planning, and who is ultimately seeking an academic job. Though such an individual might prefer a full-time residency Ph.D. program. Nonetheless, if you fit this description, please do not hesitate to consider The American College along with other more traditional Ph.D. programs at Texas Tech, Georgia, Missouri, or Kansas State.

A third possibility, and the primary reason I bring this up on my blog, is that the fellowship could be filled by a recent retiree who has time and energy and a passion for research, and who might consider a twilight career at least as a part-time academic. I know some of my blog readers fit into this category, so let me know if you are interested to learn more.  Ideally, the doctoral fellow would be someone within commuting distance from Bryn Mawr, PA.  But I think we can be flexible about that, as now with tools like Skype or Google Hangout, it is easy interact online almost as easily as in person. The information below also suggests that the fellowship is for someone who can demonstrate financial need. But don't let that stop you from considering this opportunity, as I don't think a lack of financial need would prevent a highly qualified applicant from receiving the award. Please see the announcement below and let me know if you have any interest or questions. 

The Sy Sternberg and Fred Sievert Doctoral Fellowship

Overview

The Sternberg-Sievert Doctoral Fellowship was created to provide financial support to an individual who has both the desire and demonstrated potential to pursue a career in retirement planning research in an academic or industry setting. Funding for the Fellowship is provided by industry trailblazers Sy Sternberg and Fred Sievert who both dedicated years of service to New York Life as Chairman of the Board/CEO and President of the company, respectively.

Description

The Sternberg-Sievert Fellowship includes tuition and fees for the PhD in Financial and Retirement Planning as well as an annual $30,000 stipend for living expenses. The Fellow must be able to work at least 20 hours per week on The American College campus while pursuing the doctorate online. Primary responsibilities of the Fellow include assisting faculty with research projects and providing support to The College’s Centers of Excellence which include the New York Life Center for Retirement Income. In addition, the Sternberg-Sievert Fellow may be required to represent the Fellowship program at donor events and when media opportunities arise.

Eligibility

Applicants must be newly admitted to the doctoral program and be able to demonstrate financial need.

A master’s degree in finance, economics, consumer science, actuarial science, or related discipline from a regionally accredited institution is required. Residence within commuting distance of The American College’s Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania campus is highly preferred but not required.

A demonstrated ability to read and interpret scholarly material is required; the capacity to write for scholarly publications is highly desirable; a background in data collection, data analysis, and/or experience using statistical software packages such as SAS or R is highly preferred.

Applicants must have a professional appearance and be able to demonstrate fluency in both speaking and writing in the English language.

Funding

Tuition funding and stipend will be renewed annually for up to four years from starting the doctoral program and is contingent on annual satisfactory academic standing and job performance reviews as the Sy Sternberg and Fred Sievert Doctoral Fellow.

To Apply:

Indicate your interest in being considered for the Fellowship on the doctoral program application form and write a formal letter to the Doctoral Fellowship Committee that explains your interest in becoming the Sy Sternberg and Fred Sievert Doctoral Fellow. Your letter should include a discussion of the specific qualifications that you believe will maximize your effectiveness as the Sternberg-Sievert Doctoral Fellow. Add the letter to your application packet.