The mission of the Take Charge America Institute for Consumer Financial Education and Research at the University of Arizona is to improve consumer financial well-being through our research and outreach programs.
If you are a researcher, you may be interested in our research activities, such as current research, call for research proposal, doctoral dissertation proposal competition, special journal issue, etc. If you are an educator or practitioner, you may find helpful information about our outreach and education programs, such as Duel in the Desert, Credit Wise Cats, Family Economics & Financial Education, Small Steps to Health and Wealth, and the course "Money, Consumers and Family."
We are looking for partners and volunteers who are willing to work with us to help improve consumer financial well-being.
Dr. Michael E. Staten will be joining the University of Arizona as the TCAI's Endowed Chair and Director, effective November 1, 2007. Dr. Staten will join us from the George Washington University School of Business where he is Research Professor and Director of the Financial Services Research Program. Over the past 20 years Dr. Staten has designed and conducted research projects on a wide range of policy-oriented issues involving consumer and mortgage credit markets, initially as director of the Credit Research Center at Purdue University (1988 - 1997), and later as Distinguished Professor and Executive Director of the re-located Credit Research Center at Georgetown University (1997 - 2006). He has published numerous articles on retail financial services in academic journals and edited volumes. Staten is recognized nationally as an expert on retail credit market policy issues and has testified often before Congress and various state legislatures. He has made invited presentations at workshops and events sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, and Washington, DC think-tanks including the American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institution.
To complement TCAI's research program, Dr. Staten brings to Tucson an active personal research agenda that includes projects that examine the causes and consequences of personal bankruptcy and mortgage foreclosures; the rehabilitative effects of credit counseling on long-term borrower behavior; the role of credit bureau data, credit scoring, and risk management tools in expanding access to consumer loans in the U.S. and globally; and the pros and cons of improved loan disclosures and regulatory limits on loan products in helping consumers to make good credit choices. In addition, Dr. Staten has conducted projects for the National Retail Federation and other national financial services associations on issues such as credit card usage patterns at the point of sale and the impact of privacy regulations and data-protection legislation on the products and customer service offered by retail financial services firms.
Dr. Staten received his Ph.D. in economics from Purdue University's Krannert Graduate School of Management in 1980. He has taught undergraduate and graduate economics courses at the University of Delaware and Purdue University. He currently serves as a trustee for the American Financial Services Association Education Foundation, and is on the Advisory Council for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. He also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Purdue Employees Federal Credit Union from 1995-1997.
Staten said "I think the TCAI is on its way to becoming an extraordinary resource for Arizona and the nation. Consumers today face a tremendous array of financial products and choices. But lately, not a day goes by without a headline story that highlights the perils for those who make uninformed choices when it comes to borrowing, saving and investing. TCAI has already established an aggressive set of outreach programs. I'm delighted to be a part of the University's effort to build this into a nationally recognized intellectual hub for developing effective financial education programs and policy."
This report examines the financial behavior of undergraduate students at The University of Arizona. Specifically, the study examines cash management, credit management, savings, and risky credit use. We are interested in what elements influence financial behavior, and whether responsible financial habits affect students’ quality of life, including financial satisfaction, physical and mental health, academic satisfaction and performance, and life satisfaction in general. Read the report.
Take Charge America Institute is part of the John and Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences, in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Arizona, and gratefully acknowledges the hosting of this website by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
