After a three-year tenure, Roger Hayne is departing the position of editor in chief (EIC) of Variance. Peng Shi, who has served as co-editor for three years, is stepping up to the EIC position.
Hayne is a CAS Fellow with a long career at Milliman, where he started to work in 1977. He was involved in the creation of Variance in 2007. Before Variance, the CAS’s refereed journal was the Proceedings of the Casualty Actuarial Society (PCAS), and, being a record of what occurred at CAS meetings, was essentially inward looking. Recognizing this limitation, the CAS formed a task force to design a new journal, giving rise to Variance.
“Variance is truly an open publication that presents quality peer-reviewed papers from around the globe, no longer limited to what happened at CAS meetings,” notes Hayne. “However, many of us, including myself, felt that something may have been lost that was at the heart of the Proceedings (PCAS), that is, papers with a solidly practical orientation. Many Variance papers were tending toward the more theoretical. We who served on the original task force behind Variance did not foresee this. It was with this background I agreed to serve as editor in chief of Variance with a goal of trying to bring some of the practical flavor of PCAS to our modern Variance.
“If we can give the theory life and use by combining it with the practical tradition of PCAS,” Roger adds, “then Variance will continue to occupy a unique place in actuarial literature. I hope that, working with Peng, we helped nudge Variance closer to that place.”
Roger commented humorously on his retirement: “Retirement ain’t what it used to be. When did I (or am I going to) retire? I stepped back from full-time actuarial work at the end of 2014. After that, I still supported my former partners at Milliman in an on-call, part-time capacity, and have been privileged to serve the CAS on its Discipline Committee, as vice president-international and as Variance’s EIC. Was I retired then or not? Will stepping away from work with Milliman in September 2023 mark retirement?
“I do plan to take advantage of the location of the 2023 Annual Meeting to renew acquaintances and continue to learn more of our growing and vibrant science. Is that retired? On the personal side, I hope to see and experience a bit more of what our planet has to offer, and to continue to learn of other lands and cultures. Is that retirement? If it is, I enjoy it.”
Peng Shi, ACAS, FSA, is a professor in the risk and insurance department at the Wisconsin School of Business in Madison. He is also the Charles and Laura Albright Professor in Business and Finance. He holds a Ph.D. in actuarial science, risk management and insurance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“Working with Roger on the Variance journal has truly been a privilege,” said Shi. “I look forward to working with the editorial board to further amplify the impact of the journal and expand its readership. Variance is the flagship journal of the CAS, and I envision it growing into a prominent hub where risk professionals and researchers exchange ideas and advance the sciences of risk. While maintaining its commitment to the CAS membership, Variance will also continue to cater to the broader actuarial community, in particular in the property and casualty domain.”
Hayne and Shi expressed their deep appreciation for the tireless work of the associate editors and reviewers, whose dedication and spirit of volunteerism has allowed Variance to publish papers that are valuable to CAS members and the actuarial community.
As Shi moves into the EIC position, Variance is seeking to fill the co-editor position, as well as some editorial positions. If you are interested, contact Donna Royston (droyston@casact.org) or Elizabeth Smith (esmith@casact.org).