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Wisconsin To House the Editorial Offices of the Journal of Risk and Insurance

By Clare Becker

July 26, 2018

The Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin–Madison soon will be home to the premier journal in the field of risk and insurance economics, the Journal of Risk and Insurance. On July 26, 2018, the Board of the American Risk and Insurance Association (ARIA) announced that Joan Schmit, professor and the American Family Insurance Distinguished Chair in Risk Management and Insurance at WSB, will become the new editor of the Journal beginning January 1, 2019.

Joan Schmit
WSB Professor Joan Schmit

“Awarding the editorship of the Journal to a faculty member of our Risk and Insurance department is a great honor for the School and it attests to the national recognition of our outstanding faculty in this area and the high regard the Board has for the risk program here at Wisconsin,” says Jim Johannes, WSB’s senior associate dean for faculty and research.

Schmit succeeds Penn State’s Keith Crocker as the Journal’s editor.

“The Journal is an asset of great importance to the association and to the many people who publish in the fields of risk and insurance economics,” Schmit says. “I am honored to take on this role, and am eager to work with my colleagues, both here at Wisconsin and across the globe, to continue and extend the excellent contributions made by Keith Crocker these past six years. A great deal of important research is conducted in our field that impacts the functioning of markets and the efficient allocation of risk across the economy. The opportunity to play a role in extending the reach of such work to a broad audience is a deep privilege.”

“The ARIA Board of Directors unanimously supports the vision for the Journal of Risk and Insurance that Professor Schmit outlined in her proposal where she focused on increasing the range of topical areas that have appeared in the Journal; increasing the speed of reviews in the editorial process; and using the Journal as a platform to more broadly communicate the research findings through strategic alliances, social media, and other communication strategies,” said Richard Phillips, president of ARIA. “We also are delighted with the support that Professor Schmit’s colleagues and the Wisconsin School of Business have pledged to support her in her editorial role, and the ARIA Board looks forward to doing likewise to bring this exciting vision to life.”

Schmit has published extensively in insurance and economic journals. Her areas of expertise include insurance regulation, microinsurance, and legal issues affecting risk and insurance. She has served as associate editor for the Journal of Risk and Insurance and is a past president of ARIA and the Risk Theory Society.

Schmit has been on the WSB faculty since 1988. In addition to her role as chair of the Risk and Insurance Department, Schmit has held numerous positions in the dean’s office, including senior associate dean, vice dean, and interim dean.

UW–Madison has offered degrees in risk management and insurance as well as actuarial science since 1938, and has a rich tradition of scholarship and education in the field, with numerous past presidents of ARIA and a long list of active members.

The American Risk and Insurance Association is a scholarly association devoted to the study of and promotion of risk and insurance economics.


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