National Risk Management and Insurance Organization Recognizes UW-Madison

The national Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) meeting held in Philadelphia in April was a banner event for students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison risk management program. During the meeting, Spencer Foundation 2005-06 scholarships were announced, and for the second year in a row, two UW-Madison graduate students were named as recipients of the prestigious $10,000 scholarships. Only five students nationally received such recognition last year. The scholarship, which will go to Nikhil Tungare and Ming Ye, also provides the benefit of a mentor, someone prominent in a risk management field related to the student’s interests.

Last year’s UW-Madison recipients, Audrey Bauman and Jim Roquemore, were able to attend the Philadelphia meeting due to the generosity of alumnus Dave Borghesi and his wife Nancy. In creating the Roger Taylor Fund, the Borghesis are honoring Nancy’s father and Dave’s mentor in the insurance industry, Roger Taylor. The Department supported the attendance of still another graduating MBA, Jianwe Xie. Also in attendance were undergraduates Megan Peters and Benny VandenAvond. As president of the student risk management and insurance club at UW-Madison, Peters was sponsored by the Wisconsin Chapter of RIMS. VandenAvond was selected to participate as a winner of the Anita Benedetti Student Involvement Program, a national competition sponsored by RIMS.

Department Chair, Mark Browne said RIMS “has long been a good friend to our program, and we are grateful for their generosity as well as that of Dave and Nancy Borghesi. We recognize that their generosity is a reflection of the high quality of student drawn to UW-Madison.”