SARAH STOESZ | Staff Reporter
Butler University has a new business fraternity, Gamma Iota Sigma, which will be chartered on April 15.
Gamma Iota Sigma is a fraternity for risk management and insurance majors.
Students join the organization because it helps with future job placement, said junior Kelsey Harris, the chapter development chair for Gamma Iota Sigma.
“It’s the only international risk management fraternity, so it’s good for your resume,” she said. “A lot of people haven’t heard of it because the risk management program is new to Butler.”
The Davey Risk Management and Insurance Program has been at Butler for two years. This spring, the Davey Program will have its first graduating class, said Zach Finn, faculty advisor for Gamma Iota Sigma.
“There are only about 50 insurance programs in the whole country, so that’s one of the great competitive advantages of our program,” he said. “There’s a huge demand but not a lot of supply and all the best programs have Gamma Iota Sigma, and that’s the bottom line.”
Butler’s chapter of Gamma Iota Sigma has 52 members, 38 of which are risk management majors. Any business or actuarial science major interested in a career in the insurance industry is able to be a member, Finn said.
The College of Business hopes to have a top-25 program in risk management, and Gamma Iota Sigma enhances the reputation of the Davey Program, said Chuck Williams, dean of the College of Business.
“I know that from the start of the Davey Program, one of our goals has been to have a chapter and, because only one in 10 business schools has a risk management insurance program, they are relatively rare,” Williams said. “We also know that universities and business schools are only meeting about 15 percent of the hiring needs in this industry, so there is a tremendous amount of demand for people who are trained at the entry level.
“Having a chapter is a key sign of quality, so we have worked toward that from the start.”
The risk management program and addition of Gamma Iota Sigma may help raise Butler’s job placement rate, Finn said.
“It should have a 100-percent job placement rate,” Finn said. “The insurance industry is a trillion-dollar industry, and there are about 55 schools to support that. It’s a new major that should add to our job placement rate and also the quality of jobs.”
