This year marks the Academy’s 50th year, and our Golden Anniversary is something we should all be proud of. A year ago, my predecessor, Tom Terry, noted that for the past 50 years, the Academy has represented the actuarial profession and served the public through our objective analysis of complex issues. That is never more true than today, with the Academy being trusted and called upon to weigh in on important issues that affect the health care, retirement and financial systems that affect the well-being of all Americans. In fact, our input is relevant around the world, as demonstrated by our collegial connections this year with fellow actuaries in China, Europe, and with closer neighbors like Canada.
The Academy began with 1,427 charter members; today, we have grown to almost 19,000 members, encompassing most actuaries in the United States. Our members include consultants, corporate executives, university professors, government officials, and retirees, from all areas of practice: pensions, casualty, life, health insurance including those specializing in risk management and financial reporting.
In the past year, the Academy’s practice councils have undertaken extensive work in their respective areas, as you will see in the following pages of The Record. This work focuses on critical issues around the practice area issues that are interrelated to many public policy and professionalism subjects being discussed on the national and international stage.
And the Academy’s policy and professionalism work continues to grow, as we address critical issues for which actuaries are well-equipped to help policymakers to find solutions. Our wellregarded “Aging Securely” forum on Capitol Hill in Washington in late October was one example of the Academy bringing its unique expertise to important challenges that face us as we become a demographically more mature nation.
It has been an honor to serve the Academy and our profession in the past year, and truly a pleasure to have met and collaborated with so many of our members, including our future leaders. The Academy will be in excellent hands with my successor, Tom Wildsmith, who became president during the Academy’s Annual Meeting, Nov. 12-13.
I would like to thank the Academy’s many volunteers, members and staff for your tireless work in moving our public policy work and the U.S. profession forward. The Academy’s Golden Anniversary comes at a time when actuarial insight can and must continue to inform important policy discussions. Our mission to serve the public interest and the U.S. actuarial profession is vital to ensure sustainability of financial security systems for the next 50 years—and beyond.
(The Record, 2015)