It’s long been a tradition for the last AR of the year to include a Volunteer Honor Roll listing all the CAS member volunteers — from authors to committee members to graders. The Honor Roll is a testament to the many dedicated CAS members offering their time and talents, but each year the roll took up more and more magazine real estate, making it impractical to continue.
In lieu of the list, however, our plan for this and upcoming issues is to feature more in-depth stories on a single committee or activity that has made the CAS a success. For our cover story, new AR contributor Michele Lifshen profiles the JCIED, a joint committee of the CAS and the Society of Actuaries devoted to issues of inclusion, equity and diversity in the workplace and hiring practices. Awareness and understanding of these matters have taken root in organizations around the world. Companies and individuals are learning what can be done to combat bias in the workplace — and they are taking action.
In other news …
Our feature story by AR contributor Annmarie Geddes Baribeau chronicles the measures that the CAS leadership and staff took to carry on in the wake of the pandemic. This story speaks to the power of teamwork between the two groups. It includes a timeline of events and interviews with many of my coworkers. I think that they were surprised to be the subjects of an AR article. It’s good to see them in print, and I appreciate the time they took to help with this story.
AR is also premiering a new column, Fresh Look, that aims to revisit established actuarial concepts and their places in the modern era. Stephen Mildenhall’s piece on the work of Robert Bailey and LeRoy Simon concerning minimum bias insurance rates is especially poignant in light of the passing of Bailey this past September. Bailey lived to be 90 and definitively left his mark on the actuarial profession.
Also in this issue, CAS Research Actuary Brian Fannin advocates for the power of Github (If you don’t know it, you should; look it up!), Ethical Issues considers both sides of the story behind some transactions, Grover Edie tries to make sense of the everyday world using Actuarial Standards of Practice and Jon Evans presents another perplexing puzzle.
Please enjoy this issue and stay safe and healthy!
