The insurance and risk management industry is at the crossroads, with almost half of all the professionals in the country who should retire in the next 10 to 15 years.
With the demand for the advanced workforce to a record level, the UNLV will soon go to the Nevada system of the Council of Regents of Higher Education which proposed to launch the first baccalaureate of the State for future professionals of insurance and risk management. And thanks to a new $ 735,000 gift from the Nevada Surplus Lines Foundation, the first cohort of students will be eligible for scholarships to potentially cover the total cost of the last two years of the diploma.
The new baccalaureate program – which would be one of the few on the west coast – was carefully designed to meet the evolutionary needs of the insurance and risk management profession. It also follows the university’s recent efforts to strengthen the industrial labor pipeline and position UNLV as a national leader in this important field of study.
In 2023, the UNLV Lee Business School opened the Kerestesi Center for Insurance and Risk Management. The center, supported by a $ 5 million gift from the Nevada Exterplus Lines Foundation, aligns academic and industrial programming, research, mentoring and professional development. It also serves as an important resource for students who are looking for career opportunities in industry.
The new study program, which will be hosted in the Lee Business School finance department, is the next step in the process and will perfectly integrate into the Kerestesi Center and its established programs – establish students to graduate as leaders ready to contribute to a new and diverse talent.
“More than 400,000 jobs in the insurance sector should be available in the years to come, and this study program – and more broadly the Kerestesi Center – will meet a vital need by supporting the next generation of thoughtful and innovative professionals,” said Greg McKinley, president of the Kerestesi Center Foundation and the NEVADA EXPERPLUS Foundation. “This scholarship investment will remove financial obstacles and provide professional mentoring, internships and related support to the first cohort, and will create a success that will benefit students from UNLV and our industry.”
The new diploma – A Baccalaureate of Sciences in Business Administration in Insurance and Risk Management – will be presented to regents for approval in June and should start this fall while waiting for approval. Students will acquire skills and experience in the subscription and management of complaints, insurance operations and the attenuation of business risks. The program of studies also permeates practical learning in the program, including internships, case competitions, guest speakers and the projects of the real world industry. The scholarship funds will support the financial needs of up to 35 eligible students in the first cohort, allowing them to finish the two -year major without an additional debt.
“This program represents an important front step in strengthening the talent pipeline for the insurance sector, ensuring that students have access to high -quality education and professional development opportunities,” said UNLV acting president Chris Heavey. “By investing in these students, the Nevada Opplus Lines Foundation continues its long-standing dedication to education and lays the foundations for a well-prepared and highly qualified workforce which will benefit the insurance sector for the years to come.”
The Nevada Surplus Lines Association and Foundation has a long history of support for scholarships for UNLV students, the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) and state colleges. The organizations also played a decisive role in the creation and financing of a professor for insurance and risk management at UNLV, and the Kerestesi Center for Insurance and Risk Management.
The organizations were initially introduced to UNLV via McKinley, a former UNLV student and emeritus president of Cragin & Pike, the former private insurance and risk management agency in Nevada. McKinley’s commitment to the University also included the service to the board of directors and as the leader of the UNLV Foundation and the Association of Elders, and its efforts played a decisive role in the creation of the Kerestesi Center and the new study program. A former former student of the year of the UNLV in 2023, McKinley was honored by UNLV Patrick T. Smith Achievement in Service Association of the Association des Anciens For its years of advocacy on behalf of the University and its students.