Description: This article describes activities of the Board of Governors to strengthen the role of research within the SOA. The Board actions include approving two additional professional staff positions for the Research Department and including $150,000 in a Research Development Fund to serve as seed money for research projects.

Description: This article notes that the SOA has been accepted as an affiliate member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science AAAS. The author believes this affiliation helps support the concept of an actuary being both a business person and a scientist.

Description: In this article, the author exhorts the actuarial community to move toward a more research-oriented culture, much like that which exists in the UK.

Description: Article from The Actuary, October 1998 – volume 32 - Issue 5: Individual savings, or accumulation, products include single premium deferred annuities, single premium life insurance, separate accounts, and others. This article describes a conference on these types of products that was held in January 1999.

Description: This article highlights the research projects under review by the Research Policy Committee. It also invites submission of other projects with the caveat that ideas submitted without an offer of partial or complete funding will have a lower priority level.

Description: I recently was privileged to represent the Society of Actuaries in Holland at the 100th anniversary celebration of the Dutch Actuarial Society. I’m not going to do a travelogue telling you how friendly the people are. Rather, I want to bring two important matters to your attention. First, the whole world is involved in the business we think of as particularly ours.