A $15 million gift from The Starr Foundation to Georgia State University will dramatically expand and enhance its risk education programs and elevate the highly regarded program’s stature worldwide.

The transformational gift is the largest in the history of Georgia State’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business. It will be used to accomplish the following:

• Establish an honors scholarship program to recruit and support the most promising scholars from across the nation who wish to study risk management, insurance, or actuarial science

• Develop a cross-disciplinary program, including endowed scholarships, for students pursuing other majors across the university to gain the specialized educational experiences necessary to enter the insurance industry

• Create a new physical space to house the program and provide a modern learning environment for its students

In recognition of this gift, Georgia State will rename its Department of Risk Management & Insurance as the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Science, pending approval by the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents. Greenberg is chairman and CEO of Starr Insurance Companies, a leading global insurance and investment organization, and also chairman of The Starr Foundation.

“We are deeply grateful to The Starr Foundation for investing in one of the university’s top-performing and most prestigious departments,” said President M. Brian Blake. “This gift ensures our risk management and insurance programs will continue to produce incredible graduates and outstanding research, all while honoring a legendary insurance executive.”

The Starr Foundation was established in 1955 by Cornelius Vander Starr, an insurance entrepreneur who founded C.V. Starr & Co. and other international insurance companies. Mr. Starr named Greenberg as his successor in 1968. In 1969, Mr. Greenberg formed American International Group, Inc. (AIG) from several of Starr’s insurance companies and took it public. He served as AIG’s chairman and CEO until March 2005. Under his nearly 40 years of leadership, AIG grew from an initial market value of $300 million to $180 billion, becoming the largest insurance company in the world.