Chicago, IL, Sept. 15, 2025 — The Society of Actuaries (SOA) has announced the ten actuarial candidates named as the 2025-2026 SOA James C. Hickman Scholars.
The Hickman Scholars Program provides stipends to doctoral candidates engaged in actuarial research and education. Named in memory of James C. Hickman, FSA, former dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business, the program honors his legacy of supporting actuarial research and teaching during his time as a member of the SOA.
Established by the SOA Board of Directors, the program aims to increase the number of academic actuaries who hold a Ph.D. and actuarial designation and who intend to pursue careers in academia. Each recipient receives a $20,000 USD stipend for the 2025-2026 academic year.
The 2025-2026 Hickman Scholars include students from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, and the United States:
– Panyi Dong, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
– Haoqi Lyu, The University of Hong Kong
– Mengqi Wang, Western University
– Austin Riis-Due, University of Waterloo
– Tianhe Zhang, University of Wisconsin-Madison
– Yuan Zhuang, University of New South Wales
These scholarship recipients were selected from a competitive pool of applicants who are either currently enrolled in or applying to doctoral programs in actuarial science or related fields. All recipients have demonstrated significant progress toward or have already attained an actuarial designation.
In addition to the new scholars, the SOA has renewed stipends for four previous Hickman Scholars for the 2025-2026 academic year:
– Olivier Cote, Université Laval
– Yuxin Fang, University of New South Wales
– Lydia Gabric, Arizona State University
– Changyue Hu, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
To learn more about the Hickman Scholars Program, please visit the Hickman Scholars page.
About The SOA
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For more details, visit the official SOA website.
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