UNT Receives Grant to Increase Veteran Students in Risk Management and Insurance

Although this year’s Veterans Day has already passed, the effort to increase veteran students at the University of North Texas – College of Business, specifically in the school’s risk management and insurance program, continues throughout the year. 

Launched this November, the “70 Years, 70 Hours” initiative celebrates the 70th anniversary of UNT’s risk management and insurance program with a $20,000 grant from the Dallas-located Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation, Texas and Southeast Division. The grant will be specifically targeted towards increasing veteran students in the field.

The grant will help cover internships within the industry, conference sponsorships, textbook scholarships and the opportunity for hands-on experience in the field and networking opportunities.

In the school’s press release, Dale Sharpe-Jenkins—a risk management and insurance lecturer at UNT as well as founder of The Jenkins Agency, Inc.—notes that many current workers in the field are at retirement age, so the prospects of many openings in the field make it ideal for veteran students.

“The Dallas-Fort Worth area has been a hub for insurance companies to do business for a long time, and that is only increasing,” Sharpe-Jenkins said. “We are one of a few schools in the Southwest that offers a complete risk management and insurance degree program to prepare students with the full set of skills they need for the industry – and we have some great partners in the Dallas-Fort Worth business sector that help make this a great spot for students to get real-life experience in risk management and insurance; scholarships; and most importantly, jobs after graduation.”

The “70 Years, 70 Hours” initiative will also help place 25 veteran students in 70-hour paid internships which will provide experience in claims, loss control, risk management, underwriting, and brokerage, among other areas.

regions: Dallas

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