Office Artifacts: Hal Tepfer

Click on the icons above to see more of what Hal Tepfer displays in his Comm Ave office.

February 7, 2025

Amy Laskowski

Jackie Ricciardi

As an actuary, Hal Tepfer assesses the financial costs of risk and uncertainty. As a counterbalance to the pressures of his work, next to his desk he keeps a collection of bobbleheads and figurines of people he admires, including former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, former long-serving director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci (Hon.’18), U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (CAS’11, Pardee’11) (D-N.Y.), and President Barack Obama—“just people that I have some level of admiration for,” he says. “Why do I have them in my office? I don’t know; every once in a while, I like to look up and I’m just calmed by the fact that they’re here.”

Tepfer is a Metropolitan College associate professor of the practice and director of the actuarial science department. He is nationally recognized for his expertise in pensions and health consulting, especially with union plans. In addition to his actuarial work, the 25-year BU veteran (he proudly shows off the gold anniversary clock he just received from BU) likes his job because he gets to “explain stuff,” he says, sitting in his modest Comm Ave corner office overlooking T. Anthony’s.

“This department, and this field, is very technical, and in order to become an actuary, there’s a series of exams you need to pass. I feel like by doing this, I’m helping people just getting into the profession, giving them kind of a push to help them become actuaries, and it makes me feel like I’m giving back.”

Students stopping by never need to feel intimidated. Tepfer has a great sense of humor. He is involved with, and enjoys, local theater and tries to see as many plays as he can. And his office is filled with conversation starters, like math gizmos (a prime number sculpture), toys (bobbleheads and figurines), and lots of New England sports memorabilia, including a prized seat from the old Boston Garden (just don’t ask him about the local professional teams at the moment). “I hate every team right now, even the Celtics at this point,” he says, referring to the teams’ middling performances of late.

In our Office Artifacts series, BU Today highlights interesting artifacts professors and staff display in their offices. Have a suggestion about someone we should profile? Email amlaskow@bu.edu.

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