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K-State Today

September 13, 2013

Center for Risk Management Education and Research trains students for risk management with assistance from two corporations

Submitted by Hayli Morrison

Risk is a factor in any industry, and a new program is preparing Kansas State University students to manage that. The Center for Risk Management Education and Research, or CRMER, began with funding gifts from two corporations – Innovative Livestock Services and The Gavilon Group.

"The thought process was that this is good for the students because there will be lots of job offers out there," said Lee Borck, chairman of Innovative Livestock Services. "But it's good for K-State because it's one of the top institutions where employers can come to find students who have been schooled in risk management."

Each fall, the center welcomes qualified applicants at junior level or above from agriculture, engineering or business administration programs on campus. Upon acceptance, fellows learn risk management through hands-on research and education, internships, travel and discussion with business and industry leaders.

The center, led by Ted Schroeder, analyzes everything from market risk to reputation risk to product quality and safety risk. By investing in risk management information technology, the center gives students in-depth experience with risk management platforms being used in industry.

"When they enter industry they have a rich and broad background in the complex area of risk management," Schroeder said.

In an increasingly diverse and complex risk-prone world, the center is "the right program at the right time," said Ed Prosser, vice president of agricultural trading for The Gavilon Group.

"What companies need to plan for and protect themselves against today didn't exist five or 10 years ago or weren't as magnified as they are now," Prosser said. "K-State has taken risk management studies to a new level — graduates will be highly sought after for their applied learning in risk management and research."

Read more about the center online.