Faculty-Industry Development Grants

Purpose of Grants

In addition to Katie School Research Grants, the Katie School provides development support for faculty members for projects that create value for the faculty member and the insurance and financial services industry. Value may be added to the industry in the following ways:

• Developing a high quality, interactive, and educational curriculum that will help instill students with applied, critical thinking skills. Examples of such programs may include industry-related class projects, interdisciplinary case studies, and extra-curricular workshops
• Providing information and analysis that is timely, relevant, and helpful for industry practitioners in the form of a white paper
• Providing professional development opportunities, interactive computer-based training, or industry consultation that supports industry practitioners

The following are examples of faculty development projects that have been funded:

• Development of an in-class project where students develop, underwrite, and market a "grade insurance" product
• Development of a risk management manual for small businesses to help them better deal with employment practices liability
• Development of joint marketing project for renter's insurance involving marketing students and industry marketing professionals
• Development of a white paper and presentation on the challenges of financial convergence
• Development of corporate governance guidelines that would assist insurers underwriting director's and officer's liability
• Development of videotape addressing industry needs that could be used in class and shared with other faculty and corporate trainers
• Conducting focus groups and/or surveys of industry practitioners on topic of information overload
• Conducting focus groups and/or surveys on industry needs for executive education and professional development

Suggested Faculty Development Projects

The following represent a few project ideas suggested by industry. Faculty members are free to adopt these or suggest their own ideas.

• Project 1: Development of a half-day workshop on insurance ethics. The audience would be insurance agents, adjusters, and underwriters.
• Project 2: Development of an online, computer-based training program to assist new actuaries in using Excel.
• Project 3: The proliferation of privacy laws has significantly impacted the insurance industry in terms of cross-marketing products, underwriting, and claims handling. A compilation of the various laws and how they affect the insurance industry would be a helpful reference.
• Project 4: There are now a number of ways in which the government and insurance industry work together in pooling risk. There is the Joint Underwriting Association, FAIR Plans, National Flood, Mine Subsidence (in some states), Wind Programs (in coastal areas), State Workers Compensation Funds, and more recently Terrorism Reinsurance pools, etc. compilation and summary of the research on how well these various schemes have performed, and a comparison of their strengths and weaknesses would be helpful in forming public policy decisions on future government-industry programs.

Selection Criteria

The following criteria will be used to select faculty-industry development grants:

• The funded project results in a tangible deliverable that insurance advisory board members may find valuable.
• The funded project has a short, manageable timeline. Funded projects have usually been a summer project that is completed and delivered to the Katie School at the beginning of the fall semester, but mid-year projects are also possible depending upon the scope of the project and a faculty member's ability to complete the project.
• The funded project is directly connected to the insurance industry and has an application that industry practitioners would find valuable.

Faculty are encouraged to speak with Jim Jones, director of the Katie School, in helping to draft proposals that address industry needs.

Proposal Format

Proposals should be brief, 1-2 page explanation of the project. An estimate of the time and resources required to complete the project is encouraged. They should be submitted to the Katie School Office Room 432 or Jim Jones.

Grants should be submitted by April 1.

All Katie Research Grants not selected for funding will be automatically considered for a Katie Faculty Development Grant without having to complete a separate proposal.

Funding Amount

Funding for faculty-industry grants will be based on the scope and nature of the project and the likely value the project would have for the industry. In theory, there would not be a minimum or maximum amount but the likely funding levels would fall between one and six weeks' compensation. Funding of 2008 faculty development grants ranged from $2,000 - $8,000. The "average" amount in 200 projects was $3,500/person.