Insights

Peek into Stetson’s risk “department” (A chat with Elise Paulson, director of risk management)                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Q: Describe your risk management department.

I’m a solo risk management department with two campuses and one center. I handle all of the university’s insurance policy procurement, claims, safety, workers’ compensation, contracts and policy administration.

Q: What’s currently the most pressing on your to do list?

I’m currently working on two bigger projects for the university. The first is leading the transition to a university-wide policy management system. Our goal is to set a format for the university's policies and consolidate from seven databases to just one. We’ve been working on this for two years and have a deadline for completion of June 2023. The second project is the formation of a university-wide safety program. We have been operating as two separate campuses instead of one university, so we are working on aligning our safety practices to have more oversight and consistency for the entire university. It’s really an ongoing process as we identify where the differences are between the two campuses and use a combined effort to determine the best approach to those safety issues.

Q: What do you see as the biggest challenge for higher ed right now?

Stetson University is a small, liberal arts institution which is primarily tuition dependent. For us, it all comes down to enrollment and increasing costs. Our insurance rates have increased dramatically – as I know they have across the industry – and so we are constantly looking for new ways to diversify financing and contain costs.