Ottawa, Ontario, March 18, 2013 – The governments of Canada and Manitoba today recognized the creation of a new Guy Carpenter Professorship in Agriculture Risk Management and Insurance in the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba.
"Our government's top priority is the economy, and agriculture plays a vital role in driving the economy here in Manitoba and across Canada," said federal Agriculture Canada Minister Gerry Ritz. "We are proud of this endeavour that has governments and industry groups, the academic community and the private sector working together to develop new risk management tools for our hardworking farmers."
"We are committed to giving producers the resources they need to make insurance their first line of defence when it comes to managing their risk," said Ron Kostyshyn, minister of Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives. "This professorship will be key in advancing risk management in our province for producers and help address the unique risk needs of Manitoba's diverse agriculture. The research conducted by the Guy Carpenter Professorship will add tremendous value to the agriculture sector in Canada by contributing to innovative risk management policy."
"Just like the Asper Business School itself, the professorship is an important bridge between business and agriculture. The Asper Business School is very much looking forward to working with Professor Lysa Porth as the inaugural Guy Carpenter Professorship," said Michael Benarroch, Dean and CA Manitoba chair in business leadership. "Her background and expertise in agricultural risk management will be a great addition to our university and faculty."
The Professorship position will also include supervision of graduate students in the newly created Master of Actuarial Mathematics program in the Warren Centre of Actuarial Studies.
Dr. Porth was awarded her doctorate in 2011 from the University of Manitoba and the Warren Centre for Actuarial Studies and Research in the Asper School of Business. She holds an MBA with a thesis option in management science and a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons.) in financial and actuarial studies from the Asper School of Business. Since August 2011, she has been an assistant professor in the department of statistics and actuarial science at the University of Waterloo. Porth started her role in the professorship on February 1, 2013.
For more information, media may contact:
Media Relations
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
613-773-7972
1-866-345-7972
Jeff English
Press Secretary
The Office of the Honourable Gerry Ritz
613-773-1059
