Board of Directors

Jim Jones is the Executive Director of the Katie School of Insurance and Financial Services at Illinois State University. The Katie School supports 450 students majoring in either risk management and insurance (RMI) or actuarial science. Jim works with Katie School Associate Director, the Dean of the College of Business (COB), industry executives, chairs of departments across the university, and faculty from multiple disciplines across campus, including business faculty in risk management and insurance, and actuarial science faculty in helping to prepare students for careers in the insurance industry.

Jim undertakes and facilitates researchand does presentations on industry issues including employment trends for insurance occupations, skills needed to succeed in the risk management and financial services industry. He has also published several articles on microinsurance and index insurance solutions for farmers in Africa.

Jim does presentations for both academics and industry and has presented various insurance topics for audiences around the world. He has presented on leadership and ethics to over 4000 people in the past ten years. Jim’s presentations topics include how to attract and retain college graduates for insurance careers, the ethical implications of data automation technologies in insurance, the use of simulations to teach risk management and insurance, and the economic impact of insurance on society.

Jim works directly with students in developing and facilitating undergraduate research projects including topics including: Cyber Risks and Insurance, The Use of Drones in Insurance, Autonomous Vehicles, Flood Insurance for Urban Areas, Pet Insurance Market Development, and the Role of Insurance in Supporting Community Resilience.

Jim has written and edited textbooks for the Institutes AIC program on Workers Compensation, Liability Claims Practices, and the Management of Bodily Injury Claims.

Jim serves in a leadership role at the Griffith Insurance Education Foundation, board member on the Loman Foundation, and chairs the Nominating Committee for the CPCU Society, is on the Central Illinois Chapter Board of Directors, and is a board member of the Western Risk and Insurance Association.