Sy Sternberg, CLU, retired chairman of the board and CEO of New York Life Insurance Company, and Fred Sievert, MSM, FSA, MAAA, the retired president of New York Life Insurance Company, each donated $500,000 to The American College for a gift totaling $1 million to establish the Sy Sternberg and Fred Sievert Doctoral Fellowship.
The gift will support select fellows advancing through the New York Life Doctoral Program in Financial and Retirement Planning at The American College.
The Fellowship is intended to attract individuals who are eager about the opportunity to conduct state-of-the-art research on financial issues related to retirement. The fellowship will enable select doctoral students to complete the program at no cost.
The PhD program's curriculum covers topics such as retirement income planning, estate planning, taxation, gerontology, and financial planning. Available to financial services professionals who have the desire to learn the theory that informs practice, the demanding program takes approximately three years to complete and consists of 36 hours of advanced coursework in financial and retirement planning areas. In addition, students must pass a comprehensive exam and successfully complete dissertation research of publishable quality. Two one-week residency sessions are also required.
In other news:
Security Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York promoted Mary C. Ward to the position of second vice president, Financial Operations.
Ward joined Security Mutual in 2008 as director, Financial Reporting, and was promoted to assistant vice president, Budget and Cost Accounting in 2012. In her new position, Ward will be responsible for the financial operations area of the Company.
Eric B. Goodman, retired chief investment officer of AEGON USA (now Transamerica), was elected to the Securian Financial Group board of directors at its February meeting.
Goodman joined Providian Corporation nearly 30 years ago. He was director of fixed income securities and derivatives when Providian was acquired by Transamerica, where he held several positions of increasing responsibility. Transamerica provides multiple financial products and services including life insurance, retirement plans and asset management services. Goodman retired as chief investment officer in 2011 and lives in Louisville, Ky.
Goodman has a bachelor's degree and an MBA from Indiana University. He also is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Mutual of Omaha Retirement Services named four new regional sales managers who consult with advisors to meet the 401(k) retirement needs of employers and their employees.
Thomas Engelhard will serve Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and Eastern Iowa. Prior to joining Mutual, Engelhard served as regional director for Pentegra and AUL and was a regional sales director with The Hartford for more than 22 years. He is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and received his MBA from Loyola University in Chicago, and holds his AIF designation.
