June 26, 2007
School of Risk Management, Insurance and
Actuarial Science Hosts U.S. Secretary of State
Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright was the
guest lecturer at yesterday’s William J. Parkinson Distinguished
Lecture Series, sponsored by St. John’s University’s School of Risk Management,
Insurance and Actuarial Science (SRM) and The Kathryn and
Shelby Cullom Davis Library.
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Gallery
The event, held in the Saval Auditorium of St. John’s
University’s Manhattan campus, began with a brief welcome by Ellen
Thrower, Ph.D., Executive Director of SRM, and opening remarks by
Brian M. Storms, Chairman and CEO of Marsh Inc. and member of the
SRM’s Board of Overseers, who also had the distinct honor of
introducing Secretary Albright.
Secretary Albright’s lecture focused on “The New Reality of
Risk: A Global Perspective.”
“To paraphrase Secretary Albright, ‘once we start to view risk
as the natural context for any great endeavor, we will start to
manage risk more effectively,’” said Storms. “We can all benefit
from her unique perspective and pragmatic world view.”
Secretary Albright, the 64th U.S. Secretary of State (preceded
by Warren Christopher and succeeded by Colin Powell), kept her
audience entertained with a mixture of wit, humor and logic while
eloquently stressing the seriousness of her subject matter to
insurance leaders, faculty, students and St. John’s
administrators.
“Risk is indeed an inescapable part of life today,” noted
Secretary Albright. “The moral of the story is we should never be
too certain of our assumptions because we can never be sure what
will happen next. There is always risk that we will be wrong,” she
added. “The challenge for our leaders, whether in government or
business, is to respond to risk positively and with the right mix
of daring, so that essential purposes are achieved and inevitable
dangers contained. For this we need the humility to understand what
we do not know, the energy to seek the best information we can get
and the wisdom to seek the best advice we can receive.”
Moderator John J. Hendrickson, Founder and Managing Partner of
SFRi LLC and member of SRM’s Board of Overseers, held an informal
question and answer session at the conclusion of Secretary
Albright’s lecture, before adjourning to a private reception and
book signing of her latest work – “Mighty and The Almighty.”
The William J. Parkinson Distinguished Lecture Fund was
established at The College of Insurance on December 17, 1987, in
memory and recognition of William J. Parkinson and his
contributions to Johnson & Higgins and the insurance and risk
management industry.
For more information on the William J. Parkinson Distinguished
Lecture Series or the School of Risk Management, Insurance and
Actuarial Science, contact Maureen Furlong-Weber by calling
(212)277-5111 or e-mail inquiries to weberm@stjohns.edu. Media
inquiries can be directed to Dominic Scianna, Director of Media
Relations at St. John’s University by calling (718) 990-6185 or
e-mail requests to sciannad@stjohns.edu.