2009 Oct 30
For Immediate Release
MCCCD Risk Manager Receives National Award
Tempe, AZ, October 30, 2009 – Ruth Unks, Risk Manager at the Maricopa County Community College District, has been named a recipient of the 2009 Distinguished Risk Manager Award by the University Risk Management & Insurance Association (URMIA).
Award winners, of which there were two in 2009, are nominated and chosen by their peers. Since 1989, the organization has recognized 29 recipients. According to an announcement from URMIA, "Being honored by one's peers is a singularly high honor because they, so much better than anyone else, appreciate all that these recipients have accomplished."
Unks holds the ARM (Associate of Risk Management) designation, and teaches classes on risk management for several professional organizations. She serves as a member of the Insurance Institute of America's Enterprise Risk management Course Assessment and Exam Committee. She has served on the National Board of Directors of Public Risk Management Association for six years, serving one year as president and two as past president. She currently serves on URMIA's Inter-Association Alliances Committee.
In 2007 URMIA presented her with its first Innovative Risk Management Solutions Award for her leadership in establishing MIRA, a systemwide enterprise risk management process implemented in the Maricopa Community Colleges. She is a frequent presenter and guest lecturer for PRIMA, URMIA, Risk and Insurance Management Society, Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University.
URMIA is an international nonprofit educational association serving colleges and universities. Its purpose is to promote the advancement and application of effective risk management principles and practices. The organization represents almost 1,400 individuals at more than 500 institutions of higher education and more than 100 companies.