Brian Hartman
As I complete my term as chair of the E&R section council I am so grateful for the opportunity I have had to serve the education and research community in this capacity. I am especially grateful for those who have served with me on the council (as both friends and council members) and the support we received from the SOA. It really is a fun group to be a part of and I recommend to anyone who might be interested that you run for a spot on the council next year.
We just returned from a fantastic Actuarial Research Conference in London, ON. There were a ton of great sessions, both invited and contributed. Personally, I enjoyed the chance to see old friends, meet new people, and listen to really interesting speakers. I am looking forward to the next ARC in Indianapolis, Aug 14–17, 2019. There is an article in this issue by Jeff Beckley discussing the details of the conference. Additionally, there will be a basketball game in Indianapolis, so bring your gym clothes and shoes. I will send out more information as the conference approaches. Though I won’t be E&R Section Council chair anymore, I think basketball committee is a lifetime appointment.
We also sponsored some interesting sessions at the Health Meeting in June (Predicting High Claimants, and Predicting, Understanding and Influencing Consumer Choice), the Life and Annuities Symposium in May (Further Research on SOA Experience Study Calculations, SOA Qualification Requirements and Actuarial Programs, and Reaching Limits of a Finite World), and we have some interesting sessions coming up at the 2018 SOA Annual Meeting & Exhibit in October (Promoting the Actuarial Profession in Non-Traditional Actuarial Roles and Actuarial Applications of Survival Models).
Breanne Richins will be taking over as chair in the fall and I am sure she will do a great job! I am looking forward to the exciting new directions she takes the council. Thank you for the chance to serve as chair, and see you all in Indianapolis.
Brian Hartman, Ph.D., ASA, is actuarial program director and assistant professor of statistics at Brigham Young University. He can be reached at hartman@stat.byu.edu.