The UW actuarial program’s diversity initiative, led by Drs. Paul Johnson and Margie Rosenberg, continues to raise awareness of actuarial science as a STEM career option among individuals who are underrepresented in the profession.
In 2023, we maintained our partnerships with more than a dozen Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HCBUs) and are forming partnerships with additional HBCUs. In this initiative, we are also working closely with the International Association of Black Actuaries (IABA) and the Organization of Latino Actuaries (OLA).
To date, HBCU students virtually participated in one or more of the following UW-Madison actuarial courses: Act Sci 300 (review class for the probability actuarial exam), Act Sci 365 (foundations of actuarial applications), Act Sci 303 (theory of interest), and Act Sci 652 (loss models I). In Fall 2023, we had 5 HBCU students enrolled in our courses.
We continued our local outreach efforts by leading panel discussions at Madison College about the benefits of an actuarial career. The most recent panel discussion took place on November 3rd at Madison College’s Truax Campus. We look forward to visiting Madison College’s campuses again next year to discuss an actuarial career with both high school and college students.
Our goal for 2024 is to increase the number of HBCU students, Hispanic students, and students from other under-represented groups, who enroll in our courses. We anticipate that a substantial number of students will take our Act Sci 303 class.
We are encouraged by the progress we have made and look forward to greater successes in the coming year.
Dr. Paul Johnson is a Teaching Professor in the Risk and Insurance Department at the Wisconsin School of Business.
Dr. Margie Rosenberg is the Assurant Health Professor in Actuarial Science in the Risk and Insurance Department at the Wisconsin School of Business.