During the past year, a special committee comprised of AAMGA Past President Francis Johnson, former Board Member Ed Levy and led by AAMGA Secretary/Treasurer Wesley C. Duesenberg, Jr., worked hard to solidify the AAMGA’s financial commitment of a $1 million endowment to Georgia State University.

The important initiative underlies “the absolute essential need for us to establish an educational Chair at one of the most esteemed insurance centers of higher education in the country to keep our members better educated and advised,” Mr. Duesenberg stated. The Chair will dedicate its focus to research of the wholesale insurance market, risk management and related insurance issues. It will also issue White Papers on the research findings to ensure AAMGA members are kept up-to-date, and that the rest of the insurance industry is also educated by virtue of the AAMGA – Georgia State University partnership.

GSU Professors will also be teaching AAMGA University courses in the future, to provide members with access to a broader diversity of industry educators and thought leaders. Charles Edwards, Assistant Dean for Development at the Robinson College of Business at GSU will be in attendance at the upcoming Annual Meeting to meet with AAMGA members interested in advancing the initiative further.

“We are extremely appreciative of Scottsdale Insurance Company, which has pledged a leadership gift, and other AAMGA members who have already committed to making this important initiative a reality,” Mr. Duesenberg noted. “Even in a market filled with uncertainty, the one certainty we cannot afford to lose is maintaining the intellectual capital and capabilities of AAMGA members to differentiate themselves in the marketplace,” he added.

AAMGA members interested in meeting with Assistant Dean Edwards at the Annual Meeting, can contact him via e-mail at: dbacre@langate.gsu.edu, or to learn more about the program, contact AAMGA Treasurer Wes Duesenberg via e-mail at: wduesenberg@siuins.com.