Georgia State University Renames its Department of Risk Management & Insurance as the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Science
Renaming Acknowledges Extraordinary $15 Million Gift from Top US Entrepreneur
The University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents has approved renaming Georgia State
University’s Department of Risk Management & Insurance as the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Science. The name change recognizes a $15 million gift from The Starr Foundation that will dramatically
expand and enhance Georgia State University’s risk education programs and elevate the highly regarded
program’s stature worldwide. Maurice R. Greenberg is chairman of The Starr Foundation and chairman
and CEO of Starr Insurance Companies.
The transformational gift is the largest in the history of Georgia State’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business.
It will be used to:
– Establish an honors scholarship to recruit promising scholars from across the U.S.
– Develop a certificate program for students who are not risk science majors
– Create a new physical space to house the risk science unit
– Recruit additional talented faculty and staff for the unit’s programs
“We are deeply grateful to The Starr Foundation for investing in one of the university’s top-performing
and most prestigious departments,” President M. Brian Blake said when the gift was announced on Jan. 24. “This gift ensures our risk management and insurance programs will continue to produce incredible graduates and outstanding research, all while honoring a legendary insurance executive.”
The Starr Foundation was established in 1955 by Cornelius Vander Starr, an insurance entrepreneur who founded C.V. Starr & Co. and other international insurance companies. Mr. Starr named Mr. Greenberg as his successor in 1968. In 1969, Mr. Greenberg formed American International Group, Inc. (AIG) from
several of Starr’s insurance companies and took it public. He served as AIG’s chairman and CEO until
March 2005. Under his nearly 40 years of leadership, AIG grew from an initial market value of $300 million to $180 billion, becoming the largest insurance company in the world.
With Mr. Greenberg as its chairman, The Starr Foundation has made more than $4.0 billion in grants to many academic, medical, cultural, and public policy organizations worldwide.
“The commercial insurance industry – a driving force of the global economy – must be committed to attracting and nurturing the best and brightest young leaders. Helping Georgia State continue to build one of the nation’s best insurance programs will ensure that happens,” said Mr. Greenberg.
“The Starr Foundation is honored to provide scholarship support for Georgia State students at a pivotal time in their lives,” said Florence A. Davis, president of The Starr Foundation.
Georgia State’s Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Science has been a leader in risk and insurance
education and research for nearly 70 years. Created initially as the Department of Insurance, its
undergraduate program is currently ranked No. 4 in the country, according to U.S. News & World
Report, and the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Science is ranked No. 3 for actuarial science
research productivity among all North American business schools.
“Our focus on new technology and how we respond to an ever-changing industry has made us a national
leader in the study of risk,” said Richard Phillips, dean of the Robinson College.
“Becoming the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Science will allow us to expand the kinds of questions our researchers can address related to complex risk challenges.”
“This gift provides the resources to recruit top-tier students, create a university-wide talent development pipeline, and foster a research environment for addressing the future risk-related needs of consumers, firms, and society,” said Stephen Shore, who leads the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Science.
“We are excited to prepare students for successful careers in high-demand, risk-related fields at a scale we could only dream about before, and we are deeply grateful for the support of Mr. Greenberg and The Starr Foundation.”
To learn more about the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Science at Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business.
