The Vaughan Institute
of Risk Management
September 2025 Update
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Working together to inspire and equip the next generation of
Risk Management and Insurance (RMI) leaders to make
the world safer, smarter, and more secure.
| | Homecoming week has come and gone, but the excitement of a new season at the Vaughan Institute is just beginning! For starters, we were just named the #7 Best Insurance Program in the country for public universities by U.S. News & World Report. We’re embracing the momentum with a calendar filled with experiential learning opportunities. From case competitions and corporate treks to our Thought Leaders & Innovators Speaker Series and the inaugural RISC Summit and Innovation Challenge. Check it out! | |
Key Performance Indicators
As of September 30, 2025
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- 403 students enrolled in the RMI program
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344 students enrolled in the RMI major (+42% since 9/30/24)
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43 students enrolled in the RMI certificate (+26% since 9/30/24)
- 14 students enrolled in the MBA program with an RMI focus
- 2 RMI PhD students
| | Inaugural RISC Summit + Innovation Challenge | | |
In celebration of our 20th anniversary, the Vaughan Institute is proud to host the first-ever RISC (Risk and Insurance Strategic Collaborators) Summit in Iowa City from November 4-7, 2025. The Summit will bring together industry leaders, faculty, and students from across the country to explore the future of risk management and insurance through innovation, collaboration, and experiential learning. Come join us!
Highlights will include discussions on artificial intelligence, talent development, and emerging risks, plus the RISC Innovation Challenge—a fast-paced competition where student teams from top RMI schools across the nation will pitch bold solutions to real-world challenges for a chance to win $20,000 in prize money.
Don’t miss this milestone event! Check out the action-packed agenda and register today at RISC Summit 2025.
| | Teeing Off the Semester at PinSeekers | | |
In partnership with Gamma Iota Sigma, the Vaughan Institute successfully teed off the semester with our Annual Fall Kick-Off at PinSeekers on Monday, September 15. This casual, high-energy event brought together students and employers for an evening of networking, conversation, and fun ahead of the RMI & Actuarial Science Career Fair. Attendees had the opportunity to connect one-on-one with industry professionals, gain career insights, and practice their networking skills in a relaxed environment.
This year’s event was one of our most successful to date, with 11 employers and more than 80 students in attendance. Special thanks to Cindy Meis, director of Tippie Undergraduate Career Services, for sharing valuable guidance on the art of introductions and asking thoughtful questions, as well as the following corporate partners for investing their time in supporting the next generation of leaders in Risk Management and Insurance with internships and career opportunities:
- Aflac
- Athene
- Cottingham & Butler
- GreatAmerica Financial Services
- Holmes Murphy
- Kunkel Inc.
- Lockton Companies
- RLI
- State Farm
- Transamerica
- TrueNorth Companies
Take a quick look at the night's recap!
| | ACCELERATE Mentor Summit 2025 | | |
The Vaughan Institute was proud to host the ACCELERATE Mentor Summit 2025 at the University of Iowa JMPEC Building in Des Moines. Students from the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and Drake University came together for a case competition focused on leveraging mentoring in the insurtech space. The event provided a unique opportunity for participating students to showcase innovative thinking, collaborate with industry leaders, and gain real-world experience in addressing emerging challenges.
Congratulations to University of Iowa students Charli Brady, Carter Fitzgerald, Gabriel Clark, and Gavin Jenkins, who—with the guidance of their mentors, and Paul H. Richardson, Jr., founder & CEO of Tumbleweed, and Susan Kelly, head of innovation at Wellabe— introduced The GIANT (Global Insurance Accelerator Neural Technology), a bold new AI-driven approach to modernizing the mentoring experience. The team’s great work earned them second place in the competition. Thank you to our students, mentors, and industry partners — including the Global Insurance Accelerator — for making this event possible.
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Thought Leaders & Innovators | | The Vaughan Institute was honored to host a distinguished lineup of industry leaders as part of our Thought Leaders & Innovators Series. Here are just some of our speakers from this past month in our Insurtech Innovation class: | | | | We were also pleased to host Alex Brodsky, Iowa alum, founder and CEO of Iteright, an AI risk management platform we use with our students in our Insurtech Innovation class. He and his team shared best practices in using their updated product features that empowers students to leverage AI to identify and assess the risk and alignment of insurtech companies for 16 industry clients this semester. | | Most recently, we welcomed Nicole Gunderson of ManchesterStory and Brian Nichols of Cottingham & Butler. Thank you Nicole and Brian for sharing the P&C industry sector pain points from the venture capital and large broker perspectives. Your insights on trends in insurtech and AI solutions were intriguing and greatly appreciated and our students enjoyed working with you. | | | | We are grateful to these three speakers for bridging classroom learning with real-world innovation and for guiding our students toward a deeper understanding of the industry. Nick McClure and Liza Pullen, your experience with a global carrier like FM and the unique challenges of saleable innovation in an increasingly risky world sparked thoughtful discussion and challenged our perspectives. Pavan Goteti, your experiences in the "make vs buy" innovation challenges that large P&C carriers like EMC face when it comes to claims and underwriting speed and accuracy also put us to the test. These were rich learning moments that left a lasting impression. | | Check out our previous issues | | | | |
