By David Hudak
I am excited to be writing on Education and Research (E&R) Section activities for the first time as council chair. The mission of the council is to:
“Facilitate expanding the knowledge base of the actuarial profession, promote ties between business actuaries, academic actuaries and actuarial educators, and seek ways to support and encourage actuarial education and research.”
In keeping with this mission, I am pleased to announce that Georgia State University (GSU) in Atlanta, has been awarded the honor of hosting the 2017 Actuarial Research Conference (ARC). GSU has a rich tradition of developing cutting edge actuarial science research and will be an excellent venue for the event.
The 2016 ARC will be jointly sponsored by the University of Minnesota and the University of St. Thomas and the conference’s planning committee is working hard to make this another excellent event. Talks will consist of current research from academics and industry as well as from graduate students. Awards will again be given for the best presentations among graduate students. Graduate students should also check on travel grants. With over 100 talks planned, we encourage participation, as this is a great way to share innovative research techniques with the actuarial profession. A more detailed article on the 2016 ARC is included in this newsletter.
The E&R Section Council is also active in sponsoring sessions at other actuarial conferences. Sessions and breakfasts will be sponsored by the council at this year’s upcoming Life and Annuity Symposium in May, Health Meeting in June and the 2016 SOA Annual Meeting & Exhibit in October. Most recently, the E&R council sponsored a breakfast as well as several sessions at the 2015 SOA Annual Meeting & Exhibit with the help of Ian Duncan. These events discussed various actuarial hot topics and were well attended with the breakfast being standing room only.
The council consists of a group of dedicated individuals including nine elected members. Invaluable support and advice is given through SOA staff member Jane Lesch as well as various friends of the council, many of whom are former members. Monthly updates are provided by board member Jim Trimble. The council is also kept up to date on education and examination updates and offer opinions on items of importance. I would like to thank all of these individuals for their time and effort to make our council meaningful.
David Hudak, ASA, is professor of Actuarial Science and Mathematics as well as department head for Mathematics at Robert Morris University in Moon Township, Penn. He can be reached at hudak@rmu.edu.