Penn State Smeal College of Business
Business Building
475 Shortlidge Rd
University Park, PA 16802

Clinical Professor
Dave Cather joined the Smeal College of Business in 2006. Prior to joining Penn State, Dr. Cather was a faculty member in the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Cather's research interests include corporate risk management, insurance data analytics, corporate governance, and insurance discrimination. His research has been published in a variety of journals, including the Journal of Risk and Insurance, Risk Management and Insurance Review, Journal of Banking and Finance, and the Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance. In the classroom, Dr. Cather is an accomplished instructor who has received several teaching awards. He was the recipient of the Les Strickler Innovation in Instruction Award in 2008 and in 2023, presented by the American Risk and Insurance Association. While at Penn, Dr. Cather also served as the director of the Wharton Evening School. Before starting his academic career, Dr. Cather worked in the property-liability insurance industry as a licensed independent agent.
Corporate Risk Management, Corporate Governance, Risk and Insurance
Ph D in Risk Management and Insurance, The University of Georgia, Terry School of Business, Athens, GA, 1985-12-01
INS 301 – Risk and Insurance
Introduction to the principles and methods of handling business and personal risks; emphasis on insurance techniques.
INS 320 – Life Insurance
Protection and savings features of the life insurance contract as they affect the individual; business uses of life insurance.
INS 494H – Insurance Honors Thesis Research (H)
Supervised student activities on research projects identified on an individual or small-group basis.
INS 496 – Independent Studies
Creative Projects, including research and design, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.
INS 575 – Risk Management
Develop an understanding of the risks facing corporations and the methods available to deal with those risks.
R M 302 – Risk and Insurance
Introduction to the principles and methods of handling business and personal risks; emphasis on insurance techniques.
R M 405 – Corporate Risk Management
Risk management for firms and organizations; loss control, risk transfer, and loss financing alternatives; Corporate employee benefit program design and financing.
R M 430 – Life and Health Insurance
Industrial organization of the US life-health insurance industry; economic issues related to organizational structure, operational functions, and the supply and demand for life-health products.
R M 494
R M 494H – Honors Research Project (H)
Supervised honor student research projects identified on an individual or small-group basis.
RM 302 – Risk and Insurance
Introduction to the principles and methods of handling business and personal risks; emphasis on insurance techniques.
RM 405 – Corp Risk Mgmt
Risk management for firms and organizations; loss control, risk transfer, and loss financing alternatives; Corporate employee benefit program design and financing.
RM 408 – Personal Risk Mgmt
Individuals face a variety of personal risks, including catastrophic property losses to their homes and personal property; extra expenses resulting from unexpected death, morbidity, disability, and accidents; and retirement risks that prevent them from having sufficient wealth to live comfortably after they have finished their working careers. This class examines the range of methods available to manage these personal risks, including risk mitigation, insurance, pre-funding, and risk diversification. It also examines the role of governmental programs that offer protection from these risks.
RM 430 – Life and Hlth Ins
Industrial organization of the US life-health insurance industry; economic issues related to organizational structure, operational functions, and the supply and demand for life-health products.
RM 494H – Research Project (H)
Supervised honor student research projects identified on an individual or small-group basis.
RM 497 – Special Topics
Formal courses given infrequently to explore, in depth, a comparatively narrow subject which may be topical or of special interest.
RM 875 – Risk Management & Compliance
Risk management and compliance (RMC) is a process that organizations can use to limit excessive risk taking and unlawful corporate behavior. This class covers the losses resulting from ineffective risk management and compliance, such as business interruption, class action lawsuits, product recalls, reputational harm, and increased regulation. A variety of risk handling techniques are introduced, with an emphasis on how risk management can increase firm value. Using lectures and cases, the class examines how firms can implement risk management and compliance systems to better monitor and control corporate risk-taking behavior. Throughout the class, the legal, financial, and regulatory incentives to engage in corporate risk-taking are examined across a variety of corporate stakeholders, including managers, senior executives, corporate directors, customers, shareholders, institutional investors, and regulators.
Cather D. A. "Addressing Insurance Price Discrimination in an Era of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" Risk Management and Insurance Review, vol. 26, 2023-10-30
Cather D. A. "Insurance Pricing Discrimination and Aristotelian Equality: An Application to Annuity Pricing" Journal of Insurance Regulation, vol. 40, 2022-04-07
Cather D. A. "Reconsidering Insurance Discrimination and Adverse Selection in an Era of Data Analytics" Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance, vol. 45, 2020-03-01
Cather D. A. "Cream Skimming: Innovations in Insurance Risk Classification and Adverse Selection" Risk Management and Insurance Review, vol. 21, 2018-09-03
Cather D. A. "The Limits of Insurance Risk Pooling for Large-Scale Loss Events" The CIP Report, Center for Infrastructure Protection and Homeland Security, vol. 13, 2014-09-01
Dorfman M. S., Cather D. A. "Introduction to Risk Management and Insurance" 2013-12-01
Cather D. A. "A Gentle Introduction to Risk Aversion and Utility Theory" Risk Management & Insurance Review, vol. 13, 2010-04-01
Cather D. A., Ligon J. A. "The Informational Value of Insurance Purchases: Evidence from the Property Liability Insurance Markets" Journal of Banking and Finance, 1997-07-01
Cather D. A., Cooperman E. S., Wolfe G. A. "Excess Pension Asset Reversions and Corporate Acquisition Activity" Journal of Business Research, 1991-12-01
Cather D. A., Howe V. "Conflict and Channel Management in Property-Liability Distribution Systems" Journal of Risk and Insurance, 1989-09-01
Cather D. A., Leverett E. "Relationship Marketing: A Framework for Effective Agency Management" Best's Review, 1989-03-01
Cather D. A. "Property Liability Insurance Marketing: a Comparison of Independent Agency and Direct Writer Insurers" CPCU Journal, 1986-09-01
Cather D. A., Gustavson S. G., Trieschmann J. S. "A Profitability Analysis of Property-Liability Insurers Using Alternative Distribution Systems" Journal of Risk and Insurance, 1985-06-01