The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of four winners of the 2020 CAS University Award from the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), a leading international organization for credentialing and professional education. The annual CAS University Award Program is designed to celebrate and honor universities that are committed to fostering the development of the next generation of property and casualty actuaries. This is the second time the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been recognized with this honor, previously receiving one of the program's inaugural awards in 2016.

"To have our actuarial science program recognized for a second time by the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) is sincerely an honor," says Professor Runhuan Feng, director of the actuarial science program. "At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, we believe in the power of innovation to serve and impact society and change lives. For example, our actuarial science program hosts the Illinois Risk Lab, which fosters the integration of discovery-based learning experience for students with state-of-the-art academic and practical research in all areas of risk analysis and advanced analytics. Not only do our students develop professional knowledge, they are already making an impact on the profession by providing creative solutions to lots of real business research problems brought to the lab by our corporate partners, including many from the property and casualty industry.

It is rewarding to be recognized by CAS, a global leader for credentialing and professional education, that we are leading and excelling this charge for and with our students. We appreciate the support CAS has given us through the years and look forward to the continued innovation and impact that will come with our ongoing partnership."

In addition to the University of Illinois, Temple University, Middle Tennessee State University, and McMaster University were selected as 2020 honorees by a panel of judges among a competitive field of worldwide applicants for the innovative and exemplary ways they are preparing students for a career in the property and casualty insurance industry. The winning schools receive a $5,000 monetary award to further enhance their actuarial programs and will be recognized at the 2020 CAS Annual Meeting in November, where they will also present a session highlighting the innovations they’ve incorporated into their programs.

“As the award program has evolved over the past five years, applicant schools are sharing new approaches in how they incorporate property and casualty concepts into their curriculum, research, and industry engagement. Those innovations are at the center of our evaluation process,” said Anson Lo, a Fellow of the CAS who chairs the CAS University Award Program. “As schools continue to adapt and enhance their programs to prepare their students for actuarial careers, the property and casualty insurance industry will likewise be better positioned to meet the challenges of the future. For example, it was impressive to see several diversity and inclusion initiatives that schools have developed within their actuarial programs. I applaud this year’s winners, as well as the many other strong applicants, for their continued efforts to promote property and casualty education.”