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October 28, 2010

National magazine ranks ULM program 13th in nation

Risk Management Magazine recently ranked the ULM Risk Management and Insurance Program 13th in the nation.

The magazine ranked programs according to the number of graduates produced during the 2009-2010 academic year. According to the article, which may be read at www.rmmag.com, bigger doesn't always mean better.

Though the ULM program is a relatively new entrant, it "has enjoyed quick success," according to the magazine. The article noted that the program at ULM "attracts more than a dozen high-level executives from area insurance companies each year to talk to students about the skills students need within the profession, current issues facing insurers and reinsurers, agents and brokers, and ethical conduct in the industry. The program began a high school insurance agency internship program to introduce and attract a younger generation of students to the industry."

Other top schools in the list included the University of Georgia, Temple University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Appalachian State, Florida State University, Georgia State University, The University of Hartford, and Virginia Commonwealth University.

The Risk Management and Insurance program was initiated as a concentration within the Finance program in 1967. It became a stand-alone major in 1997, at which point a course on Surplus Lines and Reinsurance was added to the curriculum as the capstone experience, according to ULM College of Business Administration Dean Ron Berry.

"This addition has become one of the distinguishing features of the program and has led many graduates to pursue careers in the non-standard marketplace," he said.

The RMI program at ULM has, for nearly two decades, placed heavy emphasis on a comprehensive understanding of the insurance marketplace and has been able to accomplish this most clearly through the Surplus Lines and Reinsurance Course.

That course, along with Insurance Operations, gives students a deep understanding and appreciation for the role all markets play in the insurance economy.

According to the Director of the program, Dr. Christine Berry, this is particularly important as the primary market ULM serves, the Southeast, is heavily involved in the sale and purchase of non-standard insurance.

"Many of our students also intern in the surplus lines or reinsurance arena, either through national or local internships, and more than half ultimately work in surplus lines or reinsurance," she said.

Additionally, Dr. Berry's recent focus on field work gives students hands-on experience at identifying client's needs and helping them to solve their problems as well as working with the products currently available for managing risk.

For more information about ULM's Risk Management and Insurance Program or other College of Business programs, contact rberry@ulm.edu or at 318-342-1100.

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