University of Houston Downtown

College of Business INSURANCE AND RISK MANAGEMENT CENTER

Spring 2014

AGENCIES Tim Brady, Vice Chair Chairman Brady Chapman Holland Gordy Bunch President & CEO The Woodlands Financial Group Kyle Dean President & CEO * Dean & Draper Insurance

Agency David de Roode, Partner Lockton Companies Anthony Gruppo Regional CEO-SW Hub Marsh & McLennan Agency * Bob Holloway Senior Vice President * USI Southwest Ken Hotchkiss Partner/Producer * Hotchkiss Insurance Agency

Jared Moore Exclusive Agent-Allstate Moore Insurance and Financial

Services Amanda J. Mount Account Executive-National

Healthcare Practice McGriff, Siebels & Williams Allen Wilson Senior Vice President * GEM Insurance Agencies WHOLESALERS Susan Howie VP—Human Resources HCC Insurance Holdings Scott Kilpatrick Business Development Director * Kilpatrick Companies, Ltd. Amy Leicht Area President * RPS - Leicht General Agency * Vikki Robinson Managing Partner R. T. Specialty Fred Steves Chairman * Myron Steves & Company Randy L. Doss Property Broker * CRC Insurance Services, Inc. ASSOCIATIONS Renee Stager Director of Education * Independent Insurance Agents of

Houston

* Founding Donor A UHD IRM Alumni

CARRIERS Sharon Blake Branch Vice President–Houston * The Hartford Cindy Coleman Vice President Business Development Houston Region * AIG - Chartis Tom Fitzpatrick Senior Vice President Branch

Manager * Chubb Group of Insurance

Companies Mary Jane Fortin Executive VP & CFO * AIG Life & Retirement Pam Humphrey Senior Vice President ACE USA John Knox Chairman and CEO * SureTec Insurance Company Gerald Ladner Regional President State Auto A Scott Long Area Sales Manager

TransAmerica Employee Benefits Matthew Sasso, Chair Houston-Austin Branch Vice-

President CNA Insurance RISK MANAGERS Wayne Dauterive Director of Risk Management Metro National Corporation Ginny Penzell Risk Manager Memorial Resource Development Russ Taylor Owner Risk Management Tactix CONSULTANTS * Fred de Roode Chairman and CEO PPCLOAN Mike Geeslin Principal Summit Strategy & Initiatives Laura S. Hill President-Search Consultant The Hill Group Paul Z. Martin President PZM Education Strategies Irving Pozmantier President

* PozmantierWilliams Insurance

Consultants

ADVISORY COUNCIL

For more information about the program go to: http://www.uhd.edu/irm, or contact Dr. Wen-dall Braniff at 713-226-5552 or braniffw@uhd.edu. For admissions information go to: http://www.uhd.edu/admissions .

Dr. Wendall Braniff was recently invited to write a history of the UHD IRM program for the American Risk and Insurance Association (ARIA), the premier academic organization devot-ed to the study and promotion of knowledge about risk man-agement and insurance. A version of the article is reprinted here: In the late 1970s, the Texas insurance industry found itself

with a diminishing workforce in an expanding industry. A

group of forward-thinking independent agents headed by Forrest Pearson of Austin,

Dick Swantner of Corpus Christi, and Tom Braniff of Houston joined forces with the

Houston-based Wortham Foundation determined to create a solution.

Wortham Foundation Chairman Fred Burns and Buddy Carruth, President of John L.

Wortham & Son Insurance Agency, worked with the independent insurance agents

group to create and fund the Texas Insurance Education Foundation. The Independent

Insurance Agents chapters of Houston, Dallas, Austin, Amarillo, Lubbock and Tarrant

County, as well as independent agents from those and other cities and areas of the state

contributed. The foundation’s first official action was to endow the Gus Wortham Me-

morial Chair in Risk Management and Insurance at the state’s flagship Tier I Universi-

ty of Texas at Austin (UT) in 1983. The chair was named in honor of Gus S. Wortham,

founder of two premier insurance entities. Along with his father, John L. Wortham,

Gus started the John L. Wortham & Son Insurance agency. More recognizably outside

the state, and along with Jesse Jones, James Elkins, and John Link, Gus founded Amer-

ican General Insurance Company, one of the largest insurance companies in the nation.

By establishing this chair they recognized the roots of a Texas insurance giant and sol-

idly began building to create a sustainable and innovative future.

The UT program recently had received the Joseph H. Blades Centennial Memorial Pro-

fessorship in Insurance, honoring the Houston founder of one of the nation’s largest

energy and marine insurance brokers and wholesalers and an innovative leader in

bringing Lloyds of London insurance coverages to Texas business markets. The pro-

gram taught risk management and insurance to finance majors. However, in 1997, the

Texas Legislature enacted a law guaranteeing freshmen admission to UT applicants

graduating in the top 10% of their high school classes. This affected UT’s recruitment

and enrollment of students into niche programs, including its insurance and risk man-

agement program.

In 2007, three decades after the initiative began, and with an industry in greater need of

a dependable pipeline of new industry recruits, independent agent and University of

Houston Downtown graduate David de Roode assembled another group of independent

agents and affiliates. They included Bob Dean, Tom Braniff, Dennis Baker, Fred de

Roode, Tom Fitzpatrick, Bob Holloway, Doug Hotchkiss, Sean Kenny, Scott Kilpat-

rick, John Knox, Jeff Lange, Marshall Leicht, Irving Pozmantier, Vikki Robinson, Matt

Sasso, Ed Schreiber, Fred Steves and others. These industry professionals sought a new

venue to educate future insurance professionals for Texas. They were attracted to the

University of Houston Downtown for three reasons: its students, its location, and its

College of Business dean.

UHD’s 14,000 ethnically and culturally diverse students average 29 years of age with

almost a decade of work experience. Seventy percent are the first in their families to

earn a college degree, 75% are married, and 70% work fulltime. In general, UHD’s

business students are self-motivated and mature young adults focused on their pursuit

of career-related education and opportunities. Many seek to trade their current jobs for

continued, page 2

DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Michael Fields Wendall Braniff Dean Director

College of Business Insurance & Risk Management Center

Wendall Braniff, JD

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INSURANCE AND RISK MANAGEMENT CENTER

Spring 2014

ADVISORY COUNCIL

Matt Sasso, Chair

If you’re interested in tapping into this new industry talent pipeline, contact Dr. Wendall Braniff at braniffw@uhd.edu. To post either intern-

ships or permanent positions on UHD’s Career Services website, go to: www.uhd.edu/jobs4gators.

TAPPING INTO THE PIPELINE

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) recently awarded the College of Business at the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) a full five-year extension of its initial accreditation. Founded in 1916, AACSB International is the longest-serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees in business and accounting. AACSB Accreditation is the hallmark of ex

This spring, we welcome the first UH-

Downtown Insurance and Risk Manage-

ment graduate to the Advisory Council.

Scott W. Long was a 40-year-old owner

of a group benefits agency with a wife

and three children when he became an

IRM major at UHD in 2010. He earned

several IRM scholarships, graduated

magna cum laude and was named the Out-

standing Graduate of the IRM program

in 2013. Today, Scott is the area sales

manager for TransAmerica Em

GAMMA IOTA SIGMA

Dean Mike Fields

continued from page 1

upwardly mobile career positions. The insurance industry recog-

nized that in addition to traditional 22-year-old college graduates,

these older and more experienced graduates could add a much-

needed dimension to meet the immediate challenges of a work envi-

ronment needing mid-management talent to fill its aging ranks.

Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth largest city in the

nation. Located in Harris County with over 6 million residents,

Houston's economy has a broad industrial base in energy, manufac-

turing, aeronautics, and transportation. Houston is the home of the

Texas Medical Center - the world's largest concentration of

healthcare and research institutions - and NASA's Johnson Space

Center. Only New York City is home to more Fortune 500 head-

quarters. With these markets, resources, and risks, Houston also is

home to a large number of insurance agencies, carriers, wholesalers,

and a cornucopia of insurance-related businesses and associations.

UHD College of Business Dean Don Bates created one of the top

undergraduate IRM programs in the nation at Indiana State Univer-

sity. He worked with industry representatives to develop a proposal

creating the UHD Insurance and Risk Management Center. The

founding insurance entities included the Independent Insurance

Agents of Texas (IIAT), AIG, Hotchkiss Insurance Agency, USI

Southwest, Houston RIMS, Leicht General Agency, Chubb, Dean &

Draper, Myron Steves & Company, The Hartford, Kilpatrick Com-

panies, GEM Insurance Agency, Capstone Consulting, Texas Insur-

ance Consulting, the Independent Insurance Agents of Houston, as

well as several individuals in the insurance industry.

Texas Department of Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin, Dean

& Draper Insurance Agency president and CEO Bob Dean, and The

Hartford’s regional manager Jeff Lang wrote letters supporting crea-

tion of the IRM Center and degree program. In early 2009, Dean

Bates’ proposal received the University of Houston System’s board

of regent approval. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating

Board, chaired by independent insurance agent Bob Shepard of

Harlingen, also approved. The UHD IRM Center and its bachelor in

business administration degree with a major in insurance and risk

management had launched.

For the IRM Center director, the founders recruited attorney and

fundraiser Wendall Braniff, law partner and wife of Tom Braniff,

one of the original founders of both the UT and UHD programs and

president of Texas Insurance Consulting. Two courses were offered

the first semester - and the first year had 64 enrollments.

In the summer of 2010, the Braniffs met with Professor Bill Fergu-

son at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Professors Andre

Liebenberg and Larry Cox at the University of Mississippi, and

Dean Mike Highfield and advisory council member Chris Boone,

chief marketing officer of Bancorp South, at Mississippi State Uni-

versity. Collegiate relationships were born and the candid discus-

sions with these experienced academicians and mentors provided

insights that proved important for the start-up program.

Through consultation with Wayne Dauterive of Metro National,

Mary Jane Fortin of AIG, and Houston CPCU Society members, a

curriculum was developed including courses in property, casualty,

continued on page 4

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

ployee Benefits. He also serves on the board of directors for Hou-

ston Association of Health Underwriters.

AAMGA WRITING CONTEST

The American Association of Managing General Agents is hosting

Carvajal, Neelum Ashraf and Cory Lacy have submitted papers.

Judges will select papers for publication and pay all expenses for

those authors to attend the AAMGA conference in Hawaii May 18-

cellence in business education, and has been earned by less than 5 percent of the world’s business programs. Today, there are 694 business schools in 45 countries and territories that maintain AACSB Accreditation. “It takes a great deal of commitment and determination to earn and maintain AACSB Accreditation,” said Robert D. Reid, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB Internation-al. “Business schools must make a commitment to ongoing continu-ous improvement to ensure that the institution will continue to deliver the highest quality of education to students.”

The College of Business will open its Career Center this summer, offering business majors and UHD students staff to assist with re-sume writing skills, mock interview practice and career opportuni-ty listings with Houston’s finest agencies, companies and other business entities. Insurance and risk management entities may post their positions with the Center and arrange to interview stu-dents and graduates in the private interview rooms, or schedule interviews at their own offices.

CAREER CENTER OPENING

The UHD Beta Kappa chapter of Gamma Iota Sigma was chartered this spring. The chaptering ceremony was held March 21 at the College of Business and was attended by GIS members and advisors from other universities across the nation. The festivi-ties included the formal chaptering cere-mony conducted by GIS members, a recep-tion, and a tour of the National Weather Pamela Hurley, PhD

UHD’S Risk Manager in Residence, David Hershey, CPCU, CRM, CRIS, CPSR, ARM, AMIM, MLIS was on campus April 15-17 and presented to the Houston chapters of CPCU and RIMS as well as the College of Business Dean’s Executive Series and met with IRM students and ΓΙΣ fraternity members. He also made a guest appearance at the IRM Center’s Spring Advisory Council meeting. A risk manager for over 20 years, Hershey has worked with an insurance carrier and public broker in the areas of pollution liability, ocean marine, construction, munitions manufacturing, aviation, transportation and finite risk.

Page 3

INSURANCE AND RISK MANAGEMENT CENTER

Spring 2014

SPENCER EDUCATION FOUNDATION Risk Manager in Residence Grant

Service forecasting center in Dickenson, Texas led by meteorolo-gists who track hurricanes and other weather events in the Gulf of Mexico and throughout the eastern seaboard.

GAMMA IOTA SIGMA

UHD charter members and faculty of Beta Kappa Chapter of Gamma Iota Sigma (l to r) Ivan Udalov, Yhontou

Jackson, Dr. Pamela Hurley, Theresa Epstein, Neelum Ashraf, Tamara

Peterson, Isabel Carvajal, Cory Lacy, Matthew Maxwell, Alumni Scott Long,

Dean Mike Fields, and IRM Center Director Wendall Braniff.

The Insurance Council of Texas awarded scholarships to ten UHD IRM majors for 2014. ICT is the largest association of insurance companies in the country, with over 500 members. Its annual scholarship awards to insurance and risk management students provide much needed financial assistance to students planning to enter the insurance industry and their distribution of scholarship awardees’ resumes to hiring managers provides real opportuni-ties to apply for career positions throughout the state.

ICT SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS

Front Row: Juliet Cisneros, Theresa Epstein, Rachel Depue, Dr. Pamela Hurley, Dean Mike Fields Back Row: Dr. Tom Braniff, Beverly Huet, Jim Johnson ( ICT pres-ident), Justin Gonzalez, Alexandro Reyes, Mark Hanna, Matthew Maxwell, Dr. Wendall Braniff, Stacey Massey, Ali Nematpour Not pictured: Jovanna Lopez

IRM SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS

The UHD Insurance and Risk Management Center scholarships, funded by the IRM Center Advisory Council, are awarded to IRM majors who meet the academic qualifications. The following students were awarded IRM scholarships for Spring 2014:

Neelum Ashraf Gerardo Loera Anna Berry Huyen Nguyen Carla Bickham Angelo Penas Julie Braun Tamara Peterson Isabel Carvajal Oahn Pham Saul Hernandez Anne Singletary Yhontou Jackson Blaise Solet Cory Lacy Charla Torres

OUTSTANDING GRADUATES

The Outstanding Graduates for the 2013-14 academic year have been named. The Fall Outstanding Graduate, Sean Wagner, received both IRM and CPCU scholarships and graduated magna cum laude shortly after com-pleting an internship and accepting an

Underwriting Assistant position with RPS-Leicht. The Spring Out-standing Graduate, Anna Berry, received IRM, ICT and CPCU scholar-ships and completed an internship and accepted a fulltime position as a Compliance Analyst with HCC Service Company. Congratulations on your outstanding performance!

Sean Wagner Anna Berry

Page 4

INSURANCE AND RISK MANAGEMENT CENTER

Spring 2014

continued from page 2

life, health, benefits, and risk management. Over time, partnerships

were formed with The Institutes, The National Alliance for Insurance

Education and Research, and The American College, to allow stu-

dents to earn credits toward professional designations while complet-

ing UHD IRM courses.

A 30-member Advisory Council of high-level industry executives

representing agencies, carriers, wholesalers, risk managers, associa-

tions, and consultants was recruited from the founders and other in-

dustry professionals to fund operations and scholarships, create in-

ternships and employment opportunities, and provide other industry

support and resources to the Center and its students. David de Roode,

by then vice president at Lockton, served as the Council’s first chair,

followed by Bob Dean, president and CEO of Dean & Draper Insur-

ance Agency, who served until his death in 2013 when Matt Sasso,

Houston-Austin branch vice president of CNA Insurance, accepted

the helm. Tim Brady, chairman of Brady Chapman Holland joined

as vice chair and chair of the Development Committee.

Academically-credentialed adjunct faculty members were recruited to

teach courses and bring real-world professional experience into the

classroom. Executive David VanDelinder invited UHD IRM students

to IIAT’s annual legislative briefing at the state capitol in Austin to

discuss insurance industry regulatory legislation during Texas’ bien-

nial sessions. Student internships were developed with AIG, Bass

Underwriters, Capstone Consulting, Columbia Lloyds, Cravens War-

ren, Dean & Draper, DNV Petroleum Services, El Paso Corporation,

Farmers, Gallagher, HCC Insurance Holdings, IMS/London Ameri-

can, Kilpatrick Companies, Lockton, Metro National, Myron Steves

& Company, New York Life, RPS/Leicht, Silver Eagle Distributors,

State Farm, Travelers, United Fire Group, USI, Willis, and other in-

dustry entities.

In spring 2012, an independent consultant was engaged to work with

the IRM faculty to develop courses through UHD’s distance-learning

program in an electronic format. By 2014, the complete IRM major

became available worldwide to undergraduate degree and post-

baccalaureate students through UHD’s distance-learning program,

making UHD’s one of the first AACSB-accredited bachelor degrees

in insurance and risk management offered through a distance-learning

program.

With the goal of facilitating face-to-face personal interactions be-

tween students and insurance professionals, all UHD IRM majors

attend at least two industry meetings or events each semester. The

Texas and Houston insurance industry resources are abundant and

generous to UHD’s students. The Houston Marine Insurance Semi-

nar, Insurance Council of Texas, Independent Insurance Agents of

Texas, Independent Insurance Agents of Houston, Houston CPCU

Society, Houston RIMS, National Association of Insurance and Fi-

nancial Advisors, and Greater Houston Society/Healthcare Risk Man-

agement provide scholarships, honorariums, memberships and other

opportunities for students to attend industry association meetings and

conferences.

UHD also hosts several university-wide networking and career events

that give students exposure to international and national companies in

all areas of business and commerce. The College of Business’ annual

“Meet the Industry” event features presentations by nationally-

recognized business professionals and industry niche sessions. Busi-

ness students and graduates meet with industry professionals to learn

about positions available within the industry and the abilities and

skills necessary to secure those positions. More than 250 participate

annually. Human resource directors and hiring managers of more

than fifty insurance entities are also invited to scout new talent at

student final oral presentations in risk management courses.

The Myron Steves Directorship Endowment, created in 2012 on the

occasion of its honoree’s 100th birthday, recognizes centenarian My-

ron F. Steves for his contributions to insurance education, ethics,

and professionalism. In 2013, Fred de Roode, chairman and CEO of

PPC Loan, provided funding to establish the Faculty Excellence

Fund, ensuring competitive salaries and research and publication

funding for IRM faculty. In October of that year, the Dean family

and Dean & Draper employees and affiliates funded the Bob Dean

Memorial Fund, honoring Bob Dean in recognition of his leadership

and passionate support for insurance education. By 2014, $1 million

had been contributed to the program by the industry.

The IRM Center’s advisory council members contribute and raise

funds for scholarships for IRM majors and minors. The Insurance

Council of Texas’ Education Foundation, chaired by Tony Gonzalez

of UPC Insurance, has funded more than $35,000 in scholarships. By

2014, more than $185,000 has been awarded to students, averaging

$4,500 per graduate.

In 2013, Dean Don Bates resigned. His successor, Dean Mike Fields,

quickly engaged the IRM Center’s Advisory Council and recognized

the resources they bring to the college of business. He used the pro-

gram’s curriculum development template to involve industry partners

in the development of the business college’s MBA program curricu-

lum. His executive speaker series features national talent in the busi-

ness world to inform and motivate UHD’s business students. And his

vision for the college squares with the IRM program’s focus on ca-

reer placement; in 2014, Dean Fields created the college of business

Career Placement Office.

The same year, Pamela Hurley, Ph.D. joined UHD as a fulltime As-

sociate Professor in IRM. Dr. Hurley, who created and directed the

IRM program at Utica College in upstate New York for the preced-

ing six years, quickly secured a Spencer Foundation Risk Manager in

Residence grant to bring a nationally-recognized risk manager to

UHD to share business and industry knowledge and perspectives

with students. She organized students and founded the UHD Beta

Kappa chapter of Gamma Iota Sigma. Her financial planning class

attended Texas Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA)

meetings. She recruited and coached students for competitions with

the American Association of Managing General Agencies and the

Spencer Foundation Case Challenge. She promoted and facilitated

student attendance at RIMS and other national conferences.

Since 2011, UHD has awarded twenty nine BBA degrees to insur-

ance and risk management majors. By the end of 2013, IRM majors

completed thirty-eight industry internships and IRM students and

graduates were engaged in thirty-three fulltime insurance and risk

management career positions.

Two pertinent facts will continue to make risk management and in-

surance a viable degree and career path for today’s university stu-

dents:

employment growth in insurance agencies will increase by

21.9% from 2010‐2020, creating 90,200 new and 94,200 re-

placement jobs, totaling 184,400 new career opportunities in the

industry (Bureau of Labor Statistics 2013)

the insurance industry estimated salary average of $67,400 with-

in the first 5 years, ranked as the third highest‐paid career by the

Houston Chronicle (August 8, 2013, “Most profitable degrees

aren’t always the most popular,” L.M. Sixel).

The UHD IRM Center ultimately aims to develop a nationally-

recognized program that recruits students worldwide and produces a

reliable pipeline of well-educated, experienced graduates to fill the

talent gap and help to meet the long-term needs of the insurance and

risk management industry.