TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Representatives of the insurance industry from around the globe will gather at NorthRiver Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa on Thursday, Sept. 5, to participate in a black-tie dinner and other activities announcing the establishment of the John S. and Mary Louise Loftis Bickley Endowed Teaching Chair in Insurance and Financial Services at The University of Alabama.

Bickley, emeritus chair of insurance at the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration at UA, is one of the insurance industry's pioneers and best-known representatives. He is the founder and a member of the Insurance Hall of Fame and the International Insurance Society, Inc., which awarded him its Founders Gold Medal. He is acknowledged as one of the dominant forces in bringing about the internationalization of the insurance business. He has presented more than 600 lectures to insurance groups in the United States and 92 foreign countries.

"John Bickley is truly a legend in the world of insurance," said Dr. Walter S. Misiolek, interim dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. "His experience, reach and vision, as well as his teaching and dedication to students, are remarkable. The establishment of a university chair in honor of John and Mary Louise is an appropriate and timely recognition of his many contributions to the College and the international insurance industry."

Bickley is recognized by his peers as an international figure and has lectured in nearly every country in the world and in most major U.S. cities.

His degrees include a B.A. (1939), M.B.A. (1947), and a Ph.D. (1950) from the University of Wisconsin. He first taught at The University of Alabama in 1942, but left to serve in World War II in the Army Air Corps. He returned to the University in 1947, then left for teaching assignments at the University of Washington, Ohio State University and the University of Texas before returning to the C&BA faculty as the Alabama Industry Chair of Insurance, and later the Frank Park Samford Chair of Insurance. Bickley retired in 1986 after 21 years as a UA faculty member.

The University will provide $400,000 toward the endowment goal of $1.5 million, the minimum endowment level required to support an academic chair.

The Bickley chairholder will be responsible for teaching insurance and financial services at the undergraduate level, conducting applied research in the insurance area and recruiting qualified students to the insurance program.

An honor roll will be established in the UA business school to recognize those who contribute to the endowment.

Some of Bickley’s organizational responsibilities include founder and chairman of the Electoral College of the Insurance Hall of Fame; founder and director of the International Insurance Society, Inc.; member of the board of directors of Columbus Life Insurance Co.; member of the board of trustees of the Griffith Foundation for Insurance Education, and others.

Bickley has been involved with many consulting assignments across the country, and he has also participated in management development programs. Some of his professional recognitions include nomination as the first editor of The Journal of Insurance; president of the American Risk and Insurance Association; first chairman of the Committee on Property and Liability Insurance Terminology; one of the original 15 members of the Risk Theory Seminar of the American Risk and Insurance Association; and many others. Bickley has received many special awards including a listing in Who’s Who in Insurance; Citation of the Secretary of the Treasury for service on behalf of the War Finance Program; honorary membership in the Corporation of Insurance Agents, London, United Kingdom, and many others. He has published a number of books, magazine and journal articles, monographs, and working papers.

Bickley is married to Mary Louise Loftis of Kennedy, Ala., and he has a daughter, Mary Carter Bickley. He has served as a board member of the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra and served on the board of NorthRiver Yacht Club.

Contributions to the endowment can be made by contacting Diane Harrison, development officer for UA’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration, at 205/348-2930.