USF Unveils Insurance Degree
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe University of Saint Francis is launching a four-year bachelor degree program in hopes of addressing a growing need in the insurance industry. The school says its Risk Management and Insurance degree will help fill thousands of jobs expected to become available in northeast Indiana over the next 10 years.
March 18, 2015
News Release
Fort Wayne, Ind. — The University of Saint Francis is launching a new four-year bachelor degree program, Risk Management and Insurance (RMI). Developed by the university’s Keith Busse School of Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership in conjunction with Northeast Indiana Specialty Insurers (NISI), the program is heavily based in industry-specific, project-based learning in order to educate students to become the professionals needed by area insurance companies. The RMI program will begin in the fall of 2015, and enrollment is currently open.
Approximately 5,500 insurance jobs will become available in the next 10 years, thanks to the fact that the industry is growing at approximately 4-5 percent per year. Northeast Indiana now has over 4,000 specialty insurance professionals and more than 11,000 total industry employment, with a wide range of jobs including medical, sports management, marketing, business operations, financial and other. The average annual salary of these jobs is $63,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics.
Director of the USF RMI program, Eve-Lynn Clarke, is excited about the opportunities that await USF students. Clarke, a former vice president of Fort Wayne's Lincoln Financial Group, explains the breadth of work in risk management and insurance. “The Ebola scare, computer hacking incidents, extreme weather and professional reputational risks associated with sports figures and medical malpractice are situations managed by RMI professionals in Northeast Indiana,” she said. “Well-paying and available jobs in an exciting field is a major win for students attending our university.”
NISI co-chair Joseph Svitek, chief financial officer for Ash Brokerage Corporation, said, “One of NISI's goals is to find local talent to fill these positions as they open. We are eager to work with USF students.”
Many NISI partner companies are offering hands-on fieldwork to USF students to provide real-world experience in a project-based learning environment. In addition, RMI students will have mentors and internships, and hear best practices from professionals in the field. Internships are available and waiting for students who enroll in the program.
To show young people that specialty insurance means more than just sales, USF and NISI are also starting a marketing campaign, “Major Win.” As the campaign illustrates, specialty insurance is an exciting and interesting field that is all about helping businesses assess and manage risk.
NISI is a group of local insurance leaders working with Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership to strengthen the insurance industry in our region. Talent development, a goal of NISI, is what led them to work closely with the University of Saint Francis.
For more details on USF's new RMI degree program, as well as an informative video, please visit the program's website: go.sf.edu/usf-rmi.
The University of Saint Francis is celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2015. Founded in 1890 as a comprehensive university in the Catholic Franciscan tradition, USF offers more than 80 undergraduate and graduate programs through the School of Health Sciences, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Keith Busse School of Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership and School of Creative Arts. In addition to its traditional programs, the university designs focused curricula for working adults in Fort Wayne, Crown Point, and online. Currently 2,300 students from a broad geographic region attend USF for its academic excellence.
Northeast Indiana Specialty Insurers (NISI) consists of a group of specialty insurers in Northeast Indiana who have joined educational and economic development leaders in the region to focus on talent development, marketing, advocacy and new opportunities for the region's specialty insurance companies. The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership formed NISI as part of its focus on strengthening industry clusters in the region. The University of Saint Francis is a founding member of NISI. Greater Fort Wayne Inc. co-facilitates NISI's meetings and subcommittees. More information about NISI can be found at: http://www.neindiana.com/news-media/rp-news/2014/11/06/region's-insurance-companies-work-to-strengthen-industry.
Source: University of Saint Francis