Description: Discussion of the October 23 & 24 Meeting of the Society of Actuaries Board of Governors, at which two motions addressing matters of interest to academic actuaries were approved. 1. Undertaking a process of accreditation for academic actuarial science programs. and 2. SOA exam exemption for certain students attending certain institutions.

Description: Actuary Dave Dillon describes his role volunteering his time as a teacher in higher education, including the rewards and challenges that teaching offers. He discusses the importance of being attentive to his audience’s pre-existing knowledge and adapting his presentations accordingly. His work as a teacher typically encompasses three distinct domains: 1) acquainting young students with the actuarial profession, 2) educating non-actuaries about public policy issues related to health insurance (including the Affordable Care Act), and 3) instructing current actuaries on advanced methodologies and principles within the field. Recently he taught a health insurance course for actuarial science graduate students at Georgia State University and lectured at Boise State University’s master's program in Population & Health Systems Management. In every teaching and mentoring opportunity, actuaries can contribute to the expansion and prosperity of the profession and are encouraged to pursue these endeavors.

Description: Best practices for a successful model conversion or transformation. It details the key stakeholders involved and the processes and tasks across various stages of the model conversion.

Description: Persuasion is as much about heart as facts and figures. Find out what you can do to develop your powers of persuasion.

Description: This article is written in response to the article that appeared in the February/March issue of The Actuary entitled Better Standards for Setting Standards written by Dave Kass. It discusses the process itself, the time it takes to develop or change standards and how quickly new ideas should be incorporated in the standards.

Description: By expanding their knowledge base, actuaries can develop a broad business perspective which in combination with the analytical skills characteristic of the profession can help them succeed in the areas of strategy and general management.

Description: An introduction to the SOA Education Committee and summary of exam process.

Description: This article is an interview with Laura Bennett, FSA, CEO of Embrace Pet Insurance. Her company provides one–of–a–kind pet insurance. The Actuary recently asked Bennett some questions about her unusual use of actuarial training.

Description: The goal of the session was to provide actuaries with an overview of the experiences of being an independent actuary and several details to be considered when setting up your own business.

Description: Part 2 of two-part series of interviews with former SmallCo section chairs exploring their experience with the section, the future of SmallCo, and final thoughts.