Full-Time Faculty
Andrew Niedzielski, FSA1, MAAA3, is the Director of the Actuarial Science Program. He is a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he received a B.S. in Mathematics and an M.S. in Operations Research & Statistics. He spent 37 years as a life actuary, working for a variety of insurers in the Greater Hartford area where he took on a diverse set of traditional and non-traditional actuarial roles. While working in industry, Andy began as an adjunct instructor in the Actuarial Science program at UConn in 2011. Upon his retirement from industry, he joined the Actuarial Science team at UConn as a full-time Lecturer in 2021. He was named Director of the program in 2022. In his spare time, Andy plays the guitar and writes music.
Stephen Camilli, FSA1, is a Full-time Lecturer at the University of Connecticut since 2019. He previously served as President of ACTEX Learning, a leading actuarial publisher and learning company, taught high school and college math in Argentina and New York City, and worked as Director of International Risk for UNUM, helping to design and launch the first Long-Term-Disability insurance product in Argentina. He is a co-author of Models for Quantifying Risk, 6th Edition, and writes regularly for actuarial section newsletters. He is a past chair of the SOA Entrepreneurial & Innovation section council and past member of the SOA Latin America Committee. He graduated from Brown University in 1995. He once represented Argentina on their national Ultimate Frisbee team.
Britta Hay, FSA1, CERA, PRM, is a Full-time Lecturer in the Actuarial Science Program. Britta joined UConn in 2022 from Jamaica, where she taught Actuarial Science and Risk Management at the University of the West Indies. A graduate of Imperial College London, Britta has over 20 years’ experience in regulation and consulting in the US and Jamaica and is an active volunteer on committees of the Caribbean Actuarial Association and the International Actuarial Association.
Daniel Watt, FCAS2, is a Full-time Lecturer in the Actuarial Science Program. He has worked as an Actuary at The Hartford for over 13 years, where he continues to work on a part-time basis. Dan is on the Casualty Actuaries of New England board, a member of the Joint Committee for Inclusion Equity and Diversity, a member of the CAS Candidate Advocate Working Group, a member of the CAS Examinations Committee, and participates in many DEI-focused working groups. Dan lives in Storrs, CT with his amazing wife, three wonderful children, and way too many pets.
Guojun Gan, PhD, FSA1, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Connecticut, where he has been since August 2014. Prior to that, he worked at a large life insurance company in Toronto, Canada for six years and a hedge fund in Oakville, Canada for one year. He received a BS degree from Jilin University, Changchun, China, in 2001 and MS and PhD degrees from York University, Toronto, Canada, in 2003 and 2007, respectively. His research interests are in the interdisciplinary areas of actuarial science and data science. He has published several books and papers on a variety of topics, including data clustering, variable annuity, applied statistics, programming, and mathematical finance.
Jay Vadiveloo, Ph.D., FSA1, MAAA3, CFA, serves as Professor & Director of the Janet & Mark L. Goldenson Center for Actuarial Research at the University of Connecticut. Jay works on applied actuarial research projects using teams of academicians, students and industry professionals. He received his doctorate in Statistics from the University of California, Berkeley. He has over 25 years of experience working in senior level management positions in the life insurance industry and more than 20 years of experience with UConn’s actuarial science program. In addition to publishing articles in the actuarial literature and speaking at actuarial conferences, Dr. Vadiveloo has patented a new algorithm for risk modelling. His current applied actuarial research interests are in the areas of retirement financial planning, AI applications in actuarial modelling, and morbidity-related life expectancy modelling.
Emiliano Valdez, Ph.D., FSA1, is a Professor in actuarial science and has a joint appointment with the Department of Statistics. He holds a Ph.D. in Business from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and has been in academia for over 15 years. His most recent post was at Michigan State University in East Lansing as Professor and where he served as Director of their Actuarial Science program. His primary research interest is actuarial science that cover topics in copula models and dependencies, applications of statistics to insurance problems, managing post-retirement assets, and risk measures and capital requirements related to enterprise risk management. In recognition for the quality of his research, he has been awarded several prizes that include the E. A. Lew Award, the Halmstad Memorial Prize, and the Hachemeister Prize.
Bin Zou, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in Actuarial Science and Mathematical Finance in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Connecticut. Before joining UConn, he worked as an Acting Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Washington from September 2016 to August 2017, and a TUM foundation fellow in the Department of Mathematics at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in Germany from May 2015 to August 2016. He received his Ph.D. in Mathematical Finance from the University of Alberta (Canada). His main research interests are stochastic control and optimization with applications in actuarial science and mathematical finance.
Adjunct Faculty
Terryn Boucher, FSA1, MAAA3, is an Adjunct Instructor in the Actuarial Science Program. Terry graduated from Southern Connecticut State University in 1984 with a B.S. in Mathematics, magna cum laude. He joined Aetna’s actuarial student program, working in Corporate Actuarial, Life Pricing, and Annuity Valuation. He also worked in Annuity Valuation at ING, Phoenix Life, and Voya. He oversaw Statutory Standards and Governance in Corporate Actuarial at Prudential. He was president of the Actuaries’ Club of Hartford & Springfield and began teaching as an adjunct professor at UConn in the fall of 2013. He has been a speaker at the Valuation Actuary Symposium and the Actuaries’ Club meetings and has been a member of the SOA exam committees. Terry is a published author of children’s books.
Michael Grandpré, FSA1, MAAA3, is an Adjunct Instructor for, and a 1995 graduate of, the UConn Actuarial Science Program. Mike has nearly 30 years of experience as an actuary and is currently the Head of Product Pricing Oversight at MassMutual Life Insurance Company working across the enterprise with the pricing and product development teams on life insurance, disability and investment products. He has worked at the Hartford and ING as well. In addition, throughout his career Mike has held various company roles related to actuarial employee development and volunteered for the Society of Actuaries in several university and student related capacities. He has been teaching at UConn since 2020.
Tim Hoxha, FSA1, MAAA3, is an Adjunct Instructor, as well as a 2015 graduate, of the UConn Actuarial Science Program. Following graduation, Tim joined Prudential’s Actuarial Leadership Development Program (ALDP) and held different rotations in Pricing, Valuation, and Product management. In his current role, Tim is a Director on the Life Insurance Strategy team where he focuses on rate-setting, hedging, and other strategic initiatives. Tim is also a grader for the SOA Advanced Long-Term Actuarial Mathematics (ALTAM) exam and a member of the SOA Mortality Improvement Life Working Group. He has been teaching Life Contingencies at UConn since 2018.
Scott Schneider, FSA1, MAAA3, is an Adjunct Instructor in the Actuarial Science Program. Scott has over thirty-five years of experience in the insurance industry. In his current role, he is responsible for managing the run-off of Cigna’s Variable Annuity Reinsurance business. He has been a member of several industry working groups and contributed to the drafting of Practice Notes for Variable Annuity reserves and capital requirements. He holds a BA in Actuarial Science and Risk and Insurance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Ronald Williams, FSA1, MAAA3, is an Adjunct Instructor in the Actuarial Science Program. Ron has over 30 years’ experience in all aspects of insurance, with a focus on corporate financial solutions, capital and risk management, as well as employee benefits. His financial experience includes surplus management, mergers and acquisitions, risk management program design, financial reporting and auditing, reinsurance including captive insurance, and regulatory filings and compliance. In his current role, Ron is the Chief Actuary at Spring Consulting Group. Prior to joining Spring, he was a Managing Director leading the Health and Benefits Risk Analytics Practice at KPMG and also held leadership roles at Willis Towers Watson, Lincoln Financial Group and The Hartford. Ron graduated from Central Connecticut State University with a BA in Actuarial Mathematics.
1 Fellow of the Society of Actuaries
2 Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society
3 Member of the American Academy of Actuaries