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AR Insurance Hall of Fame Honors Five Inductees & Awards Seven Scholarships

Hundreds of industry professionals gathered as the Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame honored five new inductees and awarded seven scholarships to insurance students at its annual Induction Banquet on Thursday, October 17, 2024.

The 2024 Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame inductees are:

Sonia Bell, LUTC Retired owner, Sonia Bell Agency, Conway, AR pictured with her daughter Angela Bickford

* Charles C. “Buddy” Campbell (1923 – 2003)
Retired Executive Vice President, Rebsamen Insurance, Little Rock, AR
Campbell’s daughter, Pam Plummer, pictured

Jim House, CHC, CLU
Retired President and CEO, USABLE Life, Searcy, AR
pictured with his wife Sue

Roland W. Julian, CIC, CLU, ChFC
President, Rogers Insurance Agency, Rogers, AR

Terry Youngblood
President, Youngblood Insurance Agency, Inc. – a division of Crosspointe Insurance Advisors, LLC, Texarkana, AR

Gabriella Adkins, Mason Smith, Cole Vangsnes, Samuel Roper, Peyton “Kai” Davis, William Van Asche, and Emma Daughtrey were named the 2024 Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame Scholars at the banquet.

Full-time UCA students qualify for the scholarship if they major in Insurance and Risk Management and maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or above.

The Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame was created in 2015 to identify and honor distinguished insurance industry professionals with strong ties to Arkansas who exemplify innovation, social responsibility, leadership, and professional excellence; have made broad-encompassing and lasting contributions to advance the role of insurance in society; and have significantly impacted the lives of many Arkansans.

UCA was chosen as the host and beneficiary of the Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame because of their diligent work to create and nurture a nationally recognized undergraduate degree program in insurance and risk management.

The Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame seeks to remind the public of the important role the insurance industry plays in securing the well-being of both individuals and businesses, to inspire the next generation of leadership to reach these high levels of accomplishment and to encourage young Arkansans to consider careers in the insurance industry.

Posted in: COB News, Featured News, Insurance and Risk Management program, _Awards, _Scholarships on October 19, 2024 Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Student Success Spotlight: Michael Isaac

Michael Isaac, Senior Economics (Pre-Law track) major, Insurance and Risk management minor

Involved at UCA:
COB Student Ambassador 2022, 2023, 2024
Alumni leader for IDEAL freshman leadership
Community mentor for Build at Carmichael
President of the UCA debate and forensics team

Why did you choose this field of study?
I first studied accounting but later chose economics because I wanted to be able to utilize my knowledge of business on a global scale through the pre-law track.

Tell us about your internship experience.
I’m currently completing an internship. I learned about the Windstream Financial leadership program thanks to our amazing faculty over at Career Services. I chose this internship because I wanted to be able to use my knowledge of accounting in an environment that would help me grow as a professional and also as a leader in business. Here, I am learning that the accounting I have learned so far in the classroom is just the surface of what amazing things we can do with our knowledge base. [Read more…]

Posted in: Accounting, COB News, Featured News, Insurance and Risk Management program, _Internships and Part-time, _Networking, _Volunteer on July 9, 2024 Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

2024 Spencer Risk Manager on Campus Program Brings Robin Roeder to UCA College of Business

Robin S. Roeder

Each year, an Insurance and Risk Management (IRM) professional is brought to the UCA College of Business for visits with students, faculty, and other industry and community professionals. Early this week, we were thrilled to welcome Robin S. Roeder, senior vice president of risk management for Sedgwick, to share her experience with us. The program is supported by the Spencer Educational Foundation.

Roeder visited campus for two days. At the luncheon on Monday, April 15, we were joined by many students, faculty, and insurance professionals, including Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Alan McClain, who spoke a few words to highlight the significance of the IRM industry in Arkansas.

(Pictured from L to R: UCA Insurance Center Director Mr. Ivan Hudson, Ms. Robin Roeder, Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Mr. Alan McClain, and Mr. Kelley Erstine, UCA Board of Trustees Member and CEO of the Independent Insurance Agents of Arkansas.) [Read more…]

Posted in: COB News, EFIRM, Featured News, Gamma Iota Sigma, grant, Insurance and Risk Management program, Risk Manager on Campus, Spencer Educational Foundation, _All Opportunities, _Grants, _Networking on April 16, 2024 Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

UCA College of Business Announces Outstanding Students of 2023-2024 Academic Year

At its annual Outstanding Student Awards Banquet, the UCA College of Business recently announced and celebrated the Outstanding Students selected for the 2023-2024 academic year. The awards given celebrate students who stood out this year in our academic programs and registered student organizations. The following selected students were selected because they have optimized their education by combining exemplary academic performance with internships, volunteerism, professional development, experiential education, and participation in clubs and other important experiences.

[Read more…]

Posted in: Accounting, CISA, COB News, EFIRM, Featured News, Gamma Iota Sigma, Insurance and Risk Management program, Marketing & Management, _Awards on April 5, 2024 Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Insurance Industry Leader Turned Faculty Member Brings Experience to Classroom, Leads UCA Center for Insurance & Risk Management

Ivan Hudson, Director of the UCA Center for Insurance & Risk Management and Lecturer, joined the College of Business faculty in fall 2023. In this interview, he shares his insights about his first semester, his advice for students, and his vision for what’s ahead in 2024.

Give us some highlights of your experience in the business environment from before you joined the UCA College of Business Faculty.

I got my career start with the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce. In November of 2008 I went to work for the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation as Program Associate. At this time in 2008, two-thirds of Arkansas voted to pass the Lottery legislation. Fast Forward to October of 2009 when I joined the start-up management team at the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery. Over the three and a half year period that I was there, I served in a number of capacities, including Procurement Director and Internal Operations Director. I’ll completed my MBA while there, and when I finished my MBA program at UALR December 2012, I launched the Ivan Hudson Agency as my entry into the insurance industry. In March 2014, I secured my Series 6 and Series 63 designations to help set me apart in the industry.

Networking has always been important to me. My personal and professional mantra is “You can network or not work, but you can’t do both.” That really speaks to my core value of building relationships. Solid meaningful relationships, will take you places that even education and other resources can’t.

Career Facts about Director Hudson: [Read more…]

Posted in: COB News, EFIRM, Featured News, Gamma Iota Sigma, Insurance and Risk Management program on February 5, 2024 Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

UCA Insurance Program Awarded Grant from Spencer Educational Foundation

The University of Central Arkansas Insurance and Risk Management program has been awarded a grant from the Spencer Educational Foundation, supporting a key Experiential Learning opportunity for students.

The funds were given to support the 2024 Risk Manager on Campus. For this event, a Risk Management and Insurance Professional is brought to the UCA College of Business for class visits, campus-wide lectures, panel discussions, meetings with student organizations such as Gamma Iota Sigma, and meals with faculty and other IRM community professionals. This is a valuable opportunity to allow students to network and learn from the visiting Risk Manager.

For 24 years, Spencer’s Risk Manager on Campus (RMOC) Program has offered this rewarding educational experience for students and a chance to give back to the profession. Spencer’s Risk Manager on Campus program offers grants to universities and colleges in the United States and Canada to host a practicing Risk Manager on its campus for a 1–3-day residency.

The Spencer Foundation has supported the Risk Manager on Campus program for years, most recently bringing Bailey Pipkin in 2023 and Mr. Lance Ewing in 2022.

Posted in: COB News, EFIRM, Featured News, Gamma Iota Sigma, grant, Insurance and Risk Management program, Risk Manager on Campus, Spencer Educational Foundation, _Grants on November 28, 2023