Academy Awards

Three actuaries were honored during the presentation of the annual Jarvis Farley and Robert J. Myers service awards at the American Academy of Actuaries' Nov. 8 Annual Meeting and Luncheon.

The Academy awarded Rowen Bell the 2010 Jarvis Farley Service Award in recognition of his service to the association and his efforts to provide policymakers with actuarial information related to health care reform and financial reporting. Bell is the divisional vice president of actuarial forecasting for Health Care Service Corporation in Chicago.

The Academy also presented the 2010 Jarvis Farley Service Award posthumously to Daniel J. McCarthy in recognition of his service to the Academy and the actuarial profession. McCarthy was a former president of the Academy, and until his untimely death in 2008, had served as the association's first international secretary, representing the U.S. actuarial profession on the international stage. In this role, he made extraordinary contributions to the actuarial profession.

The service award was established in 1991 in honor of Jarvis Farley, a charter member of the Academy. Farley was a highly respected figure in the actuarial profession who gave tirelessly to the association. The Academy presents the award to individuals who continue Farley's spirit of volunteer service to the actuarial profession.

In addition, the Academy honored Sheldon Summers with the 2010 Robert J. Myers Award for Public Service in recognition of his contributions to the public good through his 31 years of service with the California Department of Insurance, where he served as chief actuary from 2002 to 2009.

The annual award is named after Robert J. Myers, who helped structure and fund the nation's largest social insurance program in history during his tenure as the chief actuary of the Social Security Administration from 1947 to 1970. The award was established in 1994 to honor Myer's lifelong commitment to public service. The award is bestowed upon an actuary who has distinguished himself or herself through many years of service in the public sector.