Krzysztof Ostaszewski
Illinois State University is one of only four institutions in the world to be honored with the 2016 Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) University Award. The award recognizes exemplary work in preparing students for a career in the property and casualty insurance industry.
“This is another example of the excellent work of our faculty and students as world leaders in actuarial education,” said Illinois State’s Director of the Actuarial Program Krzysztof Ostaszewski, who noted Illinois State’s Actuarial Program has also been recognized as a Center of Actuarial Excellence by the Society of Actuaries (SOA) since 2009. “Only two universities in the U.S. were recognized by both CAS and SOA from the time they started these awards for universities: Illinois State University and the University of Connecticut.”
The CAS University Award recognized a close connection of Illinois State’s program to the industry, including pairing students with actuarial professionals to solve case studies. CAS officials pointed to strong industry research by faculty and a commitment to a real-world curriculum. Also noted were the significant number of property and casualty actuaries from Illinois State’s alumni, including 58 CAS fellows and 48 associates.
Along with Illinois State, the three other schools honored with the inaugural award were the University of California, Santa Barbara; the University of Connecticut; and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. All universities will be celebrated at the CAS Annual Meeting in November.
CAS, the world’s only actuarial organization focused exclusively on property and casualty risks, services more than 7,000 members worldwide who work for insurance companies, educational institutions, ratemaking organizations, state insurance departments, federal government agencies, and independent consulting firms.
