The School of Business Administration at the University of Mississippi will be awarded the Global Centers of Insurance Excellence designation this summer at the International Insurance Society’s forum in London.

The school’s Risk Management and Insurance program is among only 12 programs in the U.S., and 20 worldwide, to receive the designation.

The aim of the designation is to encourage universities to play an integral role in advancing insurance education, to enhance industry research and intellectual development, and to build connections between the insurance industry and top-tier academic programs and faculty.

“This designation requires that an RMI program is staffed by highly qualified faculty and that its graduates are hired in the insurance industry,”  said Andre Liebenberg, the Gwenette P. and Jack W. Robertson Chair of Insurance and associate professor of finance. “Our ability to meet these requirements is due to the commitment and support of our administration, advisory board, employers, donors, and sustaining sponsors.”