Rutgers Business School–Newark and New Brunswick (RBS) has
received a three-year commitment from Boardroom Inc., publisher of America’s
largest consumer newsletter, Bottom
Line/Personal, to support a new undergraduate course: “Love and
Money: Valuable Lessons for Life.”
Designed by economist Susan Feinberg, associate professor of management and global business at RBS, “Love and Money” has clearly struck a chord with students. The elective course quickly filled to capacity, with more than 227 students registered for the inaugural offering this spring semester.
Running January 23 through May 5 (Monday and Wednesday evenings) at the school’s Newark Campus and taught by research faculty, the course is designed to teach students important personal-finance and life-management skills through scholarly readings, in-class exercises, and presentations by distinguished guest speakers.

Cooper went on to say, “We are listening to the expressed needs of our corporate employers and students, and in response are developing a number of other innovative new programs, including a multidisciplinary Science B.S./M.B.A. dual-degree program,” which will enable students to earn a science undergraduate degree plus an advanced business degree in five-and-a-half years, including an internship.
The first 18 sessions of “Love and Money” will focus on such
topics as financial planning, investment strategies, budgeting, managing credit
cards and debt, and making major purchases. The subsequent 10 sessions will
examine the key ingredients for a fulfilling life, such as choosing a rewarding
career, personal finance, successful negotiation and communication, achieving
work-life balance, setting life goals, cultivating healthy relationships, and
preparing for and managing major life changes.
Feinberg, who will teach the course, is unique in that she plans to apply the same academic rigor as is typical of an undergraduate management or finance course to a class that prepares students for success in all aspects of the real world after college. “Literally everyone I talk to who has heard about ‘Love and Money’ tells me, ‘I wish I’d taken a class like that in college,’” she said. “We feel that it’s important to not only educate students for their careers, but also to empower them to make strategic decisions that will help them manage their own personal career and financial goals, and to provide them with tools to better navigate challenges that they will face in life.”
Rutgers alumnus Martin Edelston, founder and chair of Boardroom Inc., said, “As a native of Newark, I know as much as anyone how valuable a course like this can be going into the real world from college. The goal of my company’s newsletters is to help our readers make better sense of a complex world. It has always been my dream to bring the same kind of useful and practical advice to college students. This partnership with RBS – one of America’s premier business schools – is making my dream possible.”
Among the highlights of the course are two guest lectures: “Understanding Insurance” by Eugene Raitt, executive vice president and chief direct marketing officer of AIG Companies Worldwide, the world’s leading international insurance and financial services organization; and “Investment, Savings, and Retirement” by Alexandra Armstrong, certified financial planner and chair of Armstrong, Fleming & Moore, a personal financial planning and asset management firm based in Washington, D.C.