Professor Vytaras Brazauskas Honored with 2025 Society of Actuaries Outstanding Educator Award
Chicago, IL, August 23, 2025 — The Society of Actuaries (SOA) is pleased to announce that Vytaras Brazauskas, Professor and Chair of Actuarial Science in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, has been named the recipient of the 2025 SOA Outstanding Educator Award. This prestigious award recognizes Professor Brazauskas’s exceptional dedication to teaching, mentoring, program-building, and advancing actuarial science through research and innovation.
Professor Brazauskas, an Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA), has made a profound impact on the actuarial profession through his leadership in predictive analytics, quantitative risk management, robust statistics, and the integration of advanced data science techniques into actuarial education and research. As an Affiliate Faculty member of the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute, he brings forward-thinking approaches to the classroom, empowering students with the tools to navigate and shape a rapidly evolving profession.
With a total of 50 published papers, including 26 in leading actuarial journals, Professor Brazauskas has contributed significant research to the fields of actuarial modeling, mathematical statistics, and applied mathematics. He has served as principal or co-principal investigator on nine grant-funded projects, supported by prominent actuarial and academic institutions, including the SOA, the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), and The Actuarial Foundation.
A dedicated mentor, Professor Brazauskas has supervised or co-supervised 10 Ph.D. students—seven of whom have secured tenure-track positions at various universities in the U.S.—and 18 master’s students, several of whom have gone on to receive high-level recognition, including a Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering. His influence reaches both academia and industry, where his former students continue to lead and innovate.
A program developer, Professor Brazauskas invested thousands of hours-of-service building, administering, and continuously improving the actuarial program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. This investment of time and energy included start-to-finish development of eleven courses which did not exist at the university prior to his joining the faculty. His efforts also involved developing and ensuring approval of two graduate programs in Actuarial Science: master’s in science and a Ph.D. degree, as concentrations within the Mathematics degree.
His past recognitions include the Variance Prize from the CAS and the UWM Faculty Distinguished University Service Award from UW–Milwaukee. His recent work highlights the synergy between actuarial thinking and modern AI applications—reinforcing the profession’s commitment to innovation, accuracy, and ethical modeling in a data-driven world.
The SOA Outstanding Educator Award celebrates educators whose contributions go beyond the classroom and whose work represents the highest standards of excellence. Professor Brazauskas becomes the second recipient whose teaching, research, and mentorship have had lasting impact.
About the Society of Actuaries
With roots dating back to 1889, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) is the world’s largest actuarial professional organization with more than 34,000 actuaries as members. Through research and education, the SOA’s mission is to advance actuarial knowledge and enhance actuaries’ ability to provide expert advice and relevant solutions for financial, business and societal challenges. The SOA’s vision is for actuaries to be the leading professionals in measuring and managing risk. To learn more, visit soa.org.