Presidential Address: American Risk and Insurance Association August, 1985: The Evolution of Risk Management and Insurance: Change and Challenge

Abstract

Before I start my formal remarks, I would like to state that I am honored to be elected President of the American Risk and Insurance Association (ARIA) and to be associated with such a distinguished group of predecessors at this head table. While I was working on farms and construction crews in South Dakota during the 1950s, I never dreamed that I would be president of a prestigious academic association. I did have some dreams about owning a large farm or possibly a construction company, but I finally decided that would be too much like work. After you have shoveled out a hog shed and cow barn a few times, you begin to realize that there must be a better way to make a living. Of course, some of you who have read my papers in the Journal of Risk (andc( IusIur(lnce (JRI) might feel that I am still shoveling a new and improved fertilizer. However, this hypothesis cannot be correct because all of my papers were published after Bob Mehr instituted his academic edict on crap control. ' After I had an opportunity to teach economics for a year at Augustana College, a small Lutheran College in Sioux Falls, S.D., I decided to pursue a doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania in order to be able to teach at a major university. This pursuit never would have been possible without a Fellowship from the S.S. Huebner Foundation for Insurance Education. I greatly appreciated the educational opportunity this fellowship made possible for me. After I finally figured out how to get someone to read my dissertation at the University of Pennsylvania, I ultimately discovered that being a college professor at a major university also involves a tremendous amount of work. It is not physical work, but academic activities are extremely demanding in terms of time and mental energy. In fact, I have sometimes wondered whether the prize of eventually being promoted to a full professor was worth the price.