American Academy of Actuaries Recognizes Members’ Volunteer and Public Service
WASHINGTON—The American Academy of Actuaries is pleased to announce the recipients of its two most prestigious annual awards, the 2020 Jarvis Farley Service Award and the 2020 Robert J. Myers Public Service Award, and four recipients of its 2020 Outstanding Volunteerism Awards. The award recipients will be recognized during the Academy’s virtual 2020 Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum on Nov. 5 and 6.
Arnold Dicke of Philadelphia, Pa., is the recipient of the American Academy of Actuaries 2020 Jarvis Farley Service Award, a lifetime achievement award that honors an actuary whose volunteer efforts on behalf of the Academy have made significant contributions to the advancement of the profession. The Academy established the Jarvis Farley Service Award in 1991 to honor one of its most dedicated volunteers, Jarvis Farley, a charter member of the Academy and an invaluable resource for the profession.
Dicke is receiving the award for his prolific contributions over nearly three decades of dedicated volunteer service with the Academy in more than 35 roles, including as Academy vice president, life; as an Academy Board member and Council on Professionalism member; and as a chairperson and member of many other committees and work groups. He is widely recognized for his accomplishments in and seminal contributions to such efforts as the principle-based approach to life insurance, life reinsurance regulation, and standards development.
“Throughout his long and distinguished service with the Academy, Arnold has without fail brought expertise, acumen, and insight to bear on some of the most important life actuarial issues of our time,” said Academy 2019–20 President D. Joeff Williams. “He has been at the forefront in key public policy discussions such as on the development and implementation of principle-based reserving, lending his voice to provide an informed, objective actuarial perspective. His remarkable record of service truly captures the spirit of the award’s namesake, Jarvis Farley.”
Katherine Campbell of Auke Bay, Alaska, is the recipient of the American Academy of Actuaries 2020 Robert J. Myers Public Service Award, which was established in 1994 to honor an actuary for a single noteworthy public service achievement or a career devoted to public service. The award is named after Robert J. Myers, chief actuary for the Social Security Administration from 1947 to 1970, to honor his lifelong commitment to public service.
Campbell is receiving the award in recognition of her extraordinary contribution to the public good through years of distinguished service at the Alaska Division of Insurance, where she advanced the cause of consumer interests, including the oversight of the financial conditions of insurers through fact-based analysis and with a deep commitment to actuarial professionalism. In addition, her work through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners has also been heralded for her conscientious contributions to the development of many life and health actuarial regulatory initiatives that have had application nationwide. She currently serves as actuary at the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission.
“Katie’s public service exemplifies a commitment to excellence and emphasis on professionalism and ethical considerations in actuarial work,” said Williams. “Her service is an embodiment of the trust vested in public servants as stewards of the public interest.”
Four Academy volunteers—Christian Benjaminson of Mount Laurel, N.J.; Dave Heppen of Farmington, Conn.; Donna Megregian of Indianapolis, Ind.; and Jim Whelpley of San Mateo, Calif.—are the recipients of the Academy’s 2020 Outstanding Volunteerism Awards. The awards honor Academy volunteers who have made noteworthy contributions in their volunteer work in the last year.
Benjaminson’s diligent efforts through his role as chairperson of the Multiemployer Plans Committee have been instrumental in making the Academy’s objective perspective on challenging multiemployer plan issues well-known and understood as Congress considers whether and how to craft legislative reform proposals.
As chairperson of the Workers’ Compensation Committee, Heppen has played a central role in invigorating the Academy’s work on workers’ compensation issues especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, including effectively leading the effort to produce new papers and producing webinars.
Megregian has played a pivotal leadership role as a member of the Academy’s Life Practice Council (LPC) and chairperson of the LPC’s Life Illustrations Work Group, as the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Life Actuarial Task Force has been undertaking the task of revising Actuarial Guideline XLIX to address the illustration of Indexed Universal Life policies.
As a member of the Health Practice Council’s ASOP No. 6 Practice Note Work Group, Whelpley’s efforts were integral to the Academy being able to produce this practice note exposure draft that, once complete, is intended to provide useful information regarding current and emerging practices of actuaries in the development of age-specific retiree health claims cost assumptions.
“Service is at the heart of the Academy’s mission,” said Williams. “The skill, dedication, and hard work of our volunteers is the lifeblood that enables us to produce our valuable public policy and professionalism work.” Learn more at actuary.org/awards.
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The American Academy of Actuaries is a 19,500-member professional association whose mission is to serve the public and the U.S. actuarial profession. For more than 50 years, the Academy has assisted public policymakers on all levels by providing leadership, objective expertise, and actuarial advice on risk and financial security issues. The Academy also sets qualification, practice, and professionalism standards for actuaries in the United States.
