May

Concussion Management: Starting the Dialogue

Concussion Management

By Eric Seaborg, Sr. Risk Management Consultant, United Educators

Mainstream media has catapulted the term “concussion” from medical dictionaries into the courtroom as reports of long-term damage--and even death--surface and sports administrators are held accountable. At the college and university level, athletes, parents, coaches, and athletic trainers are seeking the proper way to ensure student safety. The National Collegiate Athletic Association recently revised their guidelines for sports-related concussions and they continue to monitor and study this issue. In response to this evolving climate, United Educators (UE) has also been extensively analyzing concussion management practices.

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Standing Your Ground on Artificial Turf Contracts and Warranties

Stand Your Ground on Turf ContractsEileen O'Hare-Anderson and Christopher Fallon are attorneys in the Fresno and Los Angeles offices of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore. They counsel educational institutions in employment, business, and facilities issues.

Replacing a natural field with an artificial turf can offer many benefits to a school, including lowering water usage, decreasing maintenance needs, and providing a high quality, aesthetically appealing field for years to come. Most artificial turf companies offer to remove and dispose of the existing field, provide maintenance instructions, and even offer a limited warranty for their product. Turf companies, however, typically insist on the school using their form contract and warranty. Schools should therefore be aware of and negotiate the contract and warranty terms and limitations before awarding a contract to a field replacement company.

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Board Corner: Report from URMIA's Leadership Development Committee

Leadership DevelopmentBy Gary Langsdale, ARM, University Risk Officer at Pennsylvania State University, Immediate Past President of URMIA, and chair of URMIA’s Leadership Development Committee.

It is my pleasure to communicate today about one of URMIA’s most important committees--the Leadership Development Committee. You may have formerly known us as the “Nominating Committee”, but the new name more accurately reflects the broader responsibility of this group. It is just as important to develop our current and future leaders, so that they can be more effective in their duties as board members, committee chairs and officers of your Association. Among the tools in our arsenal are the very robust position descriptions found on the URMIA website and a webinar we will hold this month to outline to prospective leaders (i.e., ALL our members) the position duties plus all the resources they have throughout the Association to assist them in being effective.

All About URMIA: The Latest Updates About Your Association

All About URMIAEach year, URMIA hosts in-person regional, roundtable and annual (national) conferences around the country designed to minimize your cost and time away from the office while maximizing your educational and networking opportunities. Complete conference schedules for our remaining 2014 events are available at urmia.org. In addition to our conferences, URMIA is excited to announce new support resources on the URMIAnetwork. Read on to sign up for URMIAnetwork instructional webinars, learn more about URMIA's conference schedule, access URMIA's updated Third-Party Contract Insurance Guidelines white paper, attend the encore presentation of our URMIA/NAFSA international risk workshop, or become an URMIA sponsor!

The Latest Risk Management Events, Opportunities, and Resources

Latest Updates and ResourcesEach month, this article provides some of the latest risk management resources, as well as a calendar of upcoming events, webinars, conferences, and other learning opportunities in which you or your campus colleagues may be interested. Read on for the Spring 2014 edition of the Journal of Higher Education Safety, Building Safety Month resources, a student's guide to fire safety, and more!

URMIA Members in the News

Members in the NewsHelp us welcome our newest members, and see what professional updates your colleagues have to share from the last month.

FEATURED ARTICLE

FREE Webinar: Better Understanding Business Income Values

Join the URMIA Affiliates Committee on Friday, June 6, at 2 pm Eastern for "Better Understanding Business Income Values," a webinar designed to give you a greater understanding of BI concepts and terminology, the importance of accurate values, and the tools you need to efficiently collect and report BI values. Register today!

Registration is open to URMIA members and non-members. Register online at https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/488738215.

News Briefs

Discussion of Student Unionization Increases at Private Colleges and Universities
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Should Universities Train Student Interns to Deal with Harassment in the Workplace?
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Debate Continues Over Limits to College and University Employees' Online Speech
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