Detroit Free Press Tom Walsh column

May 01--Alan Jay Kaufman, CEO of H.W. Kaufman Financial Group in Farmington Hills, has pledged more than $1 million to endow a faculty professorship in insurance and risk management within the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University.

"There's a tremendous talent shortage in the insurance industry," Kaufman told me, adding that he hopes endowing a faculty position at MSU will be a first step toward building a larger program and department in this field. "I'm hoping to get others in the insurance industry involved."

Sanjay Gupta, acting dean of the Eli Broad College and himself the Ross E. Palmer endowed professor in accounting at the school, said Thursday that Kaufman has honed in on a critical issue in today's business world.

"This is a big deal. If you think about not only insurance but the whole field of risk measurement, management, and mitigation, this is so important to the success of business, investment and capital markets functioning smoothly," Gupta said.

Kaufman is a graduate of MSU's business school and the Notre Dame law school. As chairman and president of Kaufman Financial, he heads a global firm of 1,600 employees worldwide. Issuing more than 400,000 policies a year, Kaufman insures a wide range of specialty business, ranging from global shipping companies to riding stables and medical marijuana dispensaries. It bought a company last year that doubled its presence in the United Kingdom where it is a Lloyd's of London broker.

The Broad College is looking to raise more than $136 million as part of MSU's $1.5-billion capital campaign launched last fall. A key goal is to boost the number of endowed faculty positions beyond the 100 MSU had then, a number below most other Big Ten universities.

Gupta said the Broad College now has 19 endowed professorships. Its target under the capital campaign was to add 10 more, and has now added five of those with establishment of the new Alan J. and Susan E. Kaufman Endowed Professorship in Insurance and Risk Management.

Alan Kaufman is on the Broad College board and previously helped lay the groundwork for MSU's 1995 affiliation with the Detroit College of Law. His wife Sue is a University of Michigan grad.

Both Gupta and Alan Kaufman noted that only a small number of major U.S. universities have thus far established comprehensive programs or departments in insurance and risk management, noting that The University of Pennsylvania'sWharton School, along with the University of Georgia and University of Wisconsin are among the top-ranked in this field nationwide.

Creating a full-fledged department with specialized degree programs would entail multiple endowed positions and cost up to $25 million, Kaufman said.

A number of smaller schools have carved out specialties in this area, including Olivet College in Michigan, from which Kaufman Financial has hired a number of graduates.

Contact Tom Walsh: [email protected], also follow him on Twitter @TomWalsh_freep.

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