Insights

URMIA’s president shares 2022 strategic directions and opportunities for member involvement.                    

Staying Positive In Our Move Forward

Happy New Year — whether you view it as 2022, 202Too or 202New! We continue to be on this commotional (simultaneously chaotic and emotional) roller coaster of a ride. And though things around us may appear like Groundhog Day, these challenges create new opportunities. And as a forever optimist and someone who believes in the power of manifestation, I KNOW that we will emerge from this storm together.

I remain encouraged by the future of our association, and this letter to the membership is all about the future. With that in mind, I endeavor not to use the c-word or any Greek alphabet letter in this message to our community. I do hope, however, that we can all remain resilient, stay positive, and test negative. So, I will start off by saying thank you for what you are managing in your personal and work lives, for your support of URMIA, and for your efforts to advance the discipline of risk management.

All of the above is possible, but we must do it together. We want to hear from you as we prepare for URMIA's 2022 Regional Conference Series, build content for the annual conference, and update the organization’s strategic plan. I invite you to a virtual fireside chat on Tuesday, February 1 with me, which will include a more detailed update on the items above. This virtual chat will also serve as an opportunity to solicit additional feedback from you, our membership, on these efforts and your needs overall. Register now for the Fireside Chat With URMIA President Courtney Davis Curtis.

Strategic Direction Update

I am also writing to share an update on URMIA's strategic direction through the lens of CONNECT. KNOW. GROW. TOGETHER.

CONNECT

The task forces supporting URMIA's Strategic Goal 1 led by URMIA Board of Directors member Matt Tuttle have accomplished most of our 2021 strategic goals and are forging ahead with new ideas that will connect our members to each other even more! This includes piloting a new Peer Liaisons Program, which identifies institutional members who will serve as ambassadors for their states connecting institutions together to allow for deeper local relationships. Another initiative focuses on communicating with new members early in their URMIA journeys and being more targeted with our member messaging. Lastly, we are working to identify ways to enhance the engagement of all URMIAns as we think about succession planning for higher education risk management as well as the organization.

KNOW

Efforts have kicked off with the Emerging Risk Work Group led by board member Stacie Kroll, and we have several affiliate members who are preparing content following a set framework so that we can deliver timely and relevant information to you. In support of Strategic Goal 2, which focuses on our professional development and is being led by board member Craig McAllister, we will be expanding the URMIA National Office staff to include a Learning Specialist who will shape how we deliver on our education plan and core competencies. Additionally, board member Sandy Mitchell is leading work as part of Strategic Goal 3, which focuses on linking our members to resources and tools. The group's work includes conducting a technology audit for URMIA to navigate the complexity of our various systems to improve members' experiences and access to URMIA content, and to streamline operational processes for the National Office.

GROW

As I shared at URMIA’s 52^nd Annual Conference in Seattle, growth comes with CONNECTivity, KNOWledge, and awareness. All of these are important aspects of Strategic Goal 4, where we connect our organization's actions to the long-standing values of our members that promote diversity, equity and inclusivity. Check out last month's URMIA Insights article where we update you on our DEI efforts.

TOGETHER

Please remember that there are a number of opportunities for you to act on right now. You can:

• Submit a proposal for a spring regional conference or September's annual conference.
• Sign up to volunteer for a task force, work group and/or conference.
• Standby…We are preparing to conduct an updated salary survey and will soon need you to submit your responses.

Let’s continue to CONNECT. KNOW. GROW. TOGETHER.