David W. Sommer, Ph.D.

• Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1994
• M.A., University of Pennsylvania, 1991
• B.B.A., St. Mary’s University, 1989

• Fundamentals of Risk Management
• Corporate Risk Management

• Risk management

David W. Sommer, Ph.D., is the Charles E. Cheever Chair of Risk Management. He received his B.B.A. degree from St. Mary’s University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Prior to his return to St. Mary’s, he was a faculty member in risk management and insurance at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. During his career, Sommer has taught at the undergraduate, MBA, Executive MBA, and Ph.D. levels in the areas of corporate risk management and employee benefits. He has received a number of teaching honors, including the Terry College Teacher of the Year award, the St. Mary’s University Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Greehey School of Business Outstanding Teaching Award, and the American Risk and Insurance Association Strickler Innovation in Instruction Award.

He serves on the Board of Trustees for Gamma Iota Sigma and the Board of Directors for the Texas Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association. He is a past president of the American Risk and Insurance Association and the Southern Risk and Insurance Association. 

Sommer is the co-author of a risk management and insurance textbook. In addition, his research has been published in a variety of academic and professional journals, including Journal of Risk and Insurance, Journal of Financial Services Research, Journal of Banking and Finance, Risk Management and Insurance Review, Journal of Insurance Regulation, Journal of Risk Education, and the Journal of Insurance Issues. His research has been honored with several awards.

Hoyt, Robert E., and David W. Sommer, Risk Management and Insurance (Top Hat Monacle, 2019)