In 2016, the idea of creating a Risk & Insurance Research Center was proposed by a member of the Brantley Risk and Insurance Center Board of Advisors. In August 2017, Dr. Lori Medders joined the Walker College of Business Faculty as the Freeman Professor of Insurance. Dr. Medders’ experience and interests dovetailed with this proposal so she, with the support of the Brantley Center Board of Directors, initiated a student research-teaching-learning opportunity at AppState as a collaboration between the Finance, Banking & Insurance faculty-students and the Brantley Center. Currently, AppState RISE (Risk Initiative for Student Engagement) consists of nine students and Dr. Medders.
The team conducts 4-5 research projects annually. The findings of recent work on sexual discrimination, the #metoo movement and employment practices liability will be showcased at the North Carolina InsureExpo in April. Two team members parlayed research on cyber and supply chain risk into an essay on how these risks could be efficiently financed through the use of captives. They submitted their essay to a national competition sponsored by the Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA), and have been selected as finalists. Read more about the CICA competition here. The team is also finalizing the development of an Emerging & Evolving Risks Register, which will be an ongoing work effort, and be made publicly available.
This initiative is providing valuable experiential learning experience for the students and distinguishes the Appalachian RMI program. For more information about the initiative, please contact Dr. Lori Medders.