Allied Boosts Risk & Insurance Institute

NU Online News Service, Feb. 6, 9:05 a.m. EST?The University of Iowa's new Institute of Risk and Insurance said its plan to raise a $6 million endowment has received a $1.5 million boost from Allied Insurance, which has committed that amount to support a faculty position in its Henry B. Tippie College of Business.[@@]

The donation, made through the University of Iowa Foundation, will eventually endow the Allied Insurance Chair in Risk and Insurance, the institution in Iowa City said.

The university's Institute of Risk and Insurance was established last year. The university said that its aim is to provide Iowa's insurance industry with a well-educated work force and to offer high-level continuing education and development for insurance professionals.

Gary Fethke, dean of the UI Tippie College of Business, said Des Moines, Iowa-based Allied Insurance, the university and its Tippie College of Business, as well as the insurance industry, which has a "prominent presence" in the state, "are very natural partners in a research and education-based insurance institute of this kind."

Mr. Fethke said Allied, a Nationwide affiliate, is the first major corporate contributor to the institute's campaign to raise $6 million in private support.

Kirt A. Walker, Allied president, said the company believes its gift "will provide value for the entire industry and the millions of people it serves."

Mr. Walker said the donation should strengthen the link between the university and his company. "We look forward to top-flight continuing education delivered in a variety of ways, to formalizing an internship program and to connecting Allied's professionals with UI students through open houses, classroom presentations, career fairs and job-shadow days."

Steve Rasmussen, a 1974 UI graduate and president and chief operating officer for the property and casualty insurance operations of Nationwide, said Allied chose to support the UI Institute of Risk and Insurance because of the extraordinary impact the UI has had on the industry.

The UI Institute of Risk and Insurance said that, among its other goals, is the creation of a concentration in risk and insurance studies within the college's undergraduate and MBA programs.

Also, the institute said it seeks to form an institute advisory committee to ensure responsiveness to the insurance industry's needs for continuing education, executive education, research, new employees and interns

The institute's fund-raising campaign is part of the UI's current comprehensive campaign. It seeks private funding for activities of the institute's director and faculty, undergraduate scholarships and internships, continuing education and outreach events and programs.

Private gifts secured in the campaign will provide supplemental support to the institute's operating budget from the college and the university, the institute said.

The Allied Insurance gift is part of the UI's $850 million comprehensive campaign, which will run through 2005 and is being conducted under the guidance of the UI Foundation. Named "Good. Better. Best. Iowa: The Campaign to Advance Our Great University."

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader

Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.