The Adams/Bowers Actuarial Education Center

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About the Center

How You Can Help

Friends of Drake Actuarial Science

Donors

Center dedicated!

We are well over the halfway mark in fundraising and space in the basement of Aliber Hall has been renovated to become the Adams/Bowers Center. That doesn't mean donations to reach our goal are no longer needed.  We hope that the Center will provide a number of services, not all of which will be accomplished with the creation of physical space.

The following pictures are from the dedication ceremony held November 14, 2001:

Vicki Adams thanking the donors and remarking that Warren would have been pleased to have been honored this way.

Newt Bowers also thanking the donors and being especially pleased that the fund raising campaign gave him an opportunity to see so many former students.

The ceremonial ribbon is cut.

Newt and Vicki pose with a mock-up of the recognition plaque that will hang in the Center

Two views of the Center itself

About the Center

Imagine a center dedicated to the success of Drake students, the enhancement of the actuarial profession and the contributions of two outstanding professors.

Warren Adams and Newton Bowers exemplified the best in higher education. Their academic background and professional experience made them master teachers and invaluable members of the actuarial profession. Equally important, their unflagging commitment to teaching made them advisers, mentors and friends to countless students.

The proposed Adams/Bowers Actuarial Education Center, housed in Drake University’s College of Business and Public Administration, will honor the great impact of these distinguished professors, enhance the quality of actuarial education for Drake students and benefit actuarial students everywhere. Its creation also will be a fitting celebration of the 50th anniversary year of Drake’s actuarial science program. Your gift to this worthy project will help ensure this important center becomes a reality.

Leaders and heroes

Newton Bowers and the late Warren Adams were leaders in the actuarial science profession and heroes to their students. They taught and inspired countless individuals who have gone on to also be leaders in roles such as senior actuaries and chief executives in organizations worldwide. They also are known for their warmth, compassion and great skill at bridge.

Warren Adams, Professor of actuarial science at Drake from 1967 to 1987, was instrumental in reviving the program. He served as chair of the department, assistant dean of the College of Business and Public Administration and director of Drake’s Insurance Center. Committed to the advancement of his profession, he was the first director of education at the Society of Actuaries, in 1978-80, while on leave from Drake. From 1987 to 1995, he was director of actuarial education and research at The Principal Financial Group, where he was a champion in the firm’s international activities. His fluency in Russian contributed to initiatives at the Principal and for the Society of Actuaries, of which he was a Fellow. Aside from his actuarial work, Professor Adams was an advocate for the mentally ill and was a leader at the Alliance for the Mentally Ill, serving as president of the Iowa chapter and a member of the board of the National AMI. He died in 1995.

Newton Bowers co-authored the definitive text in the field, Actuarial Mathematics, the actuarial "bible" used by students and practicing actuaries far and wide. A Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, Dr. Bowers was honored by students and colleagues with several awards for outstanding teaching. The epitome of the student-oriented professor, he also was named the 1992 Iowa Professor of the Year by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. His former students benefited from his masterful teaching of complex concepts, his great accessibility outside of class, and his extraordinary support in their studies and professional endeavors both before and long after they graduated. He played a major role in the 100 percent placement rate for Drake’s actuarial science majors, and he keeps in contact with numerous graduates. He retired in 1996.

Strengthening an outstanding asset

The Adams/Bowers Actuarial Education Center will add value to Drake’s already exceptional actuarial science program. The program is one of only a few in the nation offered at the undergraduate level in a college of business administration. In addition, the College of Business and Public Administration is accredited at both the undergraduate and graduate levels by the AACSB-International Association for Management Education. Of 1,200 national business programs, only 347 colleges in the nation are accredited by the association.

Benefits for students and the profession

The Adams/Bowers Actuarial Education Center will offer learning resources for actuarial students worldwide, enhancing their preparation as future members of the profession. The center will fulfill these purposes:

• As a physical room in Aliber Hall, home of Drake’s College of Business and Public Administration, the center will serve as a visible and worthy tribute to professors Adams and Bowers. It also will provide, for students’ use, actuarial journals and periodicals; computers with software relevant for actuarial science classes; and study guides and other materials that foster learning. Students also may work in the center as monitors and tutors.

• The center will house a Web site that will provide services for actuarial students worldwide. This "actuarial education clearinghouse" will offer discussion forums, links to providers of study materials and courses, and resource materials for both students and teachers.

• The center will sponsor numerous educational activities for students and professionals. Possibilities include a student paper competition, an annual conference for educators, and coordination with the professional societies to sponsor continuing education programs for actuarial professionals.

• A gift from EMC Insurance Companies will allow the Center to pay actuarial examination fees.  The new exam system adopted by the two societies comes with significantly increased fees.  As the gift is received, we hope to be able to reimburse students for attempts and not just for successes.

The cost of establishing the Center and being able to meet the above objectives on an ongoing basis has been estimated to be $680,000.  Your support for the Adams/Bowers Actuarial Education Center will truly advance the actuarial profession and benefit its members, current and future.

- Dr. Antone F. "Joe" Alber is Dean of the College of Business and Public Administration.

"During the past 31 years, I have had the pleasure of knowing Warren as a teacher and friend and Newt as a colleague and friend. Twelve years ago I was asked to join a program that bore so much of their personal character and ideals as to what a student-oriented actuarial program should be. Jacques Rioux, associate professor of actuarial science, and I are committed to carrying on that tradition. Creation of this center will honor their accomplishments, be a source of pride and enrichment for our students, and be a constant reminder of why we are here."

-Dr. Stuart A. Klugman, F.S.A.  is the Principal Financial Group Distinguished Professor of Actuarial Science at Drake.

How You Can Help

Support this worthy effort — and our profession

Please join other Drake alumni and other friends in creating the Adams/Bowers Actuarial Education Center to strengthen educational and professional opportunities for actuarial students and professionals. Your full contribution will be used on the project, meeting expenses associated with equipping the room, providing computers and software and supporting the center’s services and resources.

Individual and corporate donors will be publicly recognized in the new center as follows:

Leader — $10,000 and more
Founder — $5,000-$9,999
Supporter — $1,000-$4,999
Contributor — $1-$999

Corporate Leader — $25,000 and more
Corporate Sponsor — $10,000-$24,999
Corporate Contributor — $1-$9,999

All donors at the Leader level will be listed on a plaque permanently displayed in the center. All other donors will be listed in an attractive framed wall hanging. Every donor to the center also will be listed in Drake’s annual Honor Roll of Donors.  You can double or even triple the impact of your gift if your company or your spouse’s company matches the charitable gifts of its employees. That also may be true if you serve on the board of directors of a matching gift company. The company’s personnel office can provide a matching gift form that you can enclose with your gift.

For more information on the Adams/Bowers Actuarial Education Center at Drake University, contact:

Dr. Antone F. "Joe" Alber, Dean
College of Business and Public Administration
Phone: 515-271-2871
Fax: 515-271-4518
E-mail: joe.alber@drake.edu

Dr. Stuart A. Klugman, F.S.A.
Principal Financial Group Distinguished Professor of Actuarial Science
Phone: 515-271-4097
E-mail: stuart.klugman@drake.edu

Drake University Actuarial Science Web site: www.drake.edu/cbpa/acts

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Friends of Drake Actuarial Science

The following individuals constitute the Committee that has been instrumental in putting this project together and carrying it forward.

Send mail to Stuart Klugman with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: October 02, 2002