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May 18, 2021 • Caitlin Burns
Major and minor: Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science and a minor in Computer Science. Favorite Arcadia memory: It's really hard to answer because I had a lot of great memories at Arcadia University. One of them was the first time I came to Arcadia and lived at Oak Summit with friends:...
Feb 15, 2021 • Caitlin Burns
By Katherine Haines '21 Arcadia University is one of the institutions The Society of Actuaries (SOA) has coordinated with to develop the case study for the 2021 SOA Case Challenge, which is an eight-week international competition where student teams research, analyze, and present solutions to a...
Mar 6, 2020 • Caitlin Burns
Four actuarial science majors, Ross Lawnhurst ’22, Michael Soroka ’21, Minhao Zhang ’20, and Carlie Banchi ’20, attended the Philadelphia Actuaries Club Meeting on Feb. 26 along with Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics Dr. Ned Wolff and Assistant Professors of Computer Science and...
Sep 23, 2019 • Caitlin Burns
Actuarial Science students from Arcadia University and West Chester University had the opportunity to network with prospective employers at the third annual Actuarial Career Interview Day on Sept. 20, an event coordinated by the Computer Science and Mathematics Department and the Office of Career...
Nov 20, 2018 • Jen Retter
Actuarial Science majors Caroline Toner ’20, Kelsey Mashinski ’21, Di Zhu ’21, and Alyssa Grandmont ’20 attended a Philadelphia Actuaries Club meeting on Nov. 8 with Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics Irina Pogrebivsky. Students attended a panel session on non-traditional...
Jul 3, 2018 • Jen Retter
The Society Of Actuaries (SOA) published “U.S. Public Pension Plan Mortality Assumptions,” a report using research collected by Actuarial Science majors Allegra Benites ’18, Lili Liu ’18, Jesse Marass ’18, Zheng Sun ’18, Yang Tan ’18, and Yuqi Xu ’18. The paper examines the effects of...
Math was always my best subject. I learned about Actuarial Science in high school and knew right then it was going to be my future career. Actuarial Science combined my interest in finance along with my aptitude for math. I graduated from University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School with an Actuarial Science major, began working at Towers Perrin, and ultimately earned the designation Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) in 1998.
After spending 20+ years as a Retirement Consultant at Willis Towers Watson, I have transitioned to teaching Actuarial Science at Arcadia University. As a consultant, my expertise was in pension consulting, serving as a retirement actuary for Fortune 500 companies providing guidance on pension funding, accounting, plan design, and assumption setting. I also served on the Towers Watson training committee - developing and leading training sessions for new associates on a variety of pension-related topics.
My love of teaching has now translated into a full-time career teaching college students who are interested in pursuing Actuarial Science. In my opinion, the actuarial profession provides a great opportunity to have a fulfilling career with excellent work life balance while earning a good income. Actuaries utilize problem-solving, mathematical, and communication skills to help ensure individuals are able to protect themselves against risks (e.g., life insurance, auto insurance, retirement income). My favorite part of the job is showing students what actuaries actually do through our research projects. Recently, we worked with students to develop actuarial premium prices for long-term care insurance policies. We also partnered with the Society of Actuaries to research how the mortality assumption, which actuaries use to price pension plan liabilities, impacts the amount of money available to fund employee retirement benefits in public pension plans.
In addition to teaching, I am also involved with the Society of Actuaries. I recently worked with the Pension Council of the Society of Actuaries to publish a guidance paper on Mortality Credibility Theory: Credibility Educational Resource for Pension Actuaries.
Outside of work, my favorite hobbies include reading, movies, and eating (although I am a terrible cook). My family and I love to travel. My favorite trips include a safari in South Africa, hiking the Inka Trail in Peru to see Machu Picchu, and walking with the elephants in an elephant sanctuary in the mountains of Thailand.
Hometown
Abington, PA
Home Country
Unites States
Languages
English, Russian
University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School 1991
Bachelor of Science in Economics, Major in Actuarial Science and Finance