Blogs

Ethical Risks in International Travel

By Kelly B. Trail, PhD posted 6 days ago
Apply standards consistently regardless of where in the world you are Pre-Note: The URMIA Risk Inventory lists ethical violations under the International category, noting: “Practicing beyond training (especially medical), photography that perpetuates stereotypes.” This article focuses on those ethical risks in international programming. When “Doing Good” May Not be So Good Practicing medicine beyond your training, orphanage volunteering, and photos of "helpless" children - these are some of the ethical risks involved with international travel. These concerns can rapidly escalate to individual and institutional harms, both reputational and ...

Success out of the Gate: 2026 URMIA Institutes

By URMIA Staff posted 6 days ago
Learn how the new format of URMIA education benefited attendees Photo credit: University of Maryland, Baltimore Office of Communications and Public Affairs Institutes Focused on Specific Risk Management Areas In their inaugural year, the URMIA Institutes are being heralded as a great pilot with opportunities to build on the success in 2027. The three offerings in March were focused on ERM, risk emergency management, and finance and insurance, and the events varied in the level of risk manager they were targeted towards. Attendees of the virtual institute left better equipped to address finance and insurance areas on campus, including ...

Meet a Member Volunteer: Craig Haderlie

By URMIA Staff posted 8 days ago
Get to know a fellow URMIAn through our member/volunteer profile series What Is Your Current Role and Institution, and How Long Have You Been There I currently serve as the director of risk and insurance services at Brigham Young University. I have been employed at the university for ten and a half years. How Did You Find Your Way into Higher Ed Risk Management I worked professionally as an insurance producer for The Leavitt Group after graduating from Brigham Young University in 2004. I was motivated to obtain as much education as possible early in my career. As I attended the CIC and CRM courses, I was always intrigued by the stories and ...

Preparing for the Unpredictable: The Risks Higher Education Leaders Can’t Ignore

By Lucy C. Straker, ACII posted 9 days ago
Consider these tips for building your institution's resiliency to these types of risks Risks During Graduation Events Are Just One of Many Events to Pay Attention to Graduation season is upon us once again, and all over the country, higher education administrators are preparing to welcome countless guests to campus. Commencement is a carefully orchestrated event, and it’s not uncommon for higher education leaders to give extensive thought to risk management protocols and precautions for the festivities. But in today’s increasingly complex and unpredictable risk environment, planning for the academic year’s biggest occasions alone is not sufficient; ...

Institutional Profiles of Risk Management - Part 13

By URMIA Staff posted 9 days ago
Discover what the risk management function/structure looks like at other URMIA member institutions If You’ve Seen Two Institutions’ Risk Management Structure… Modifying our favorite phrase from Gary Langsdale, an URMIA past president and former assistant vice president & university risk officer at Penn State University, we would complete the header to say “you’ve seen two institutions’ risk management structure.” We’re sharing the risk management profile of URMIA institutional members to help you see how others are structured and find some fellow URMIAns that you might want to connect with because you have a question about how they operate. ...

Risk Management and Procurement Must Act Now as Leaders in a Collaborative Ecosystem

By Michelle J. Smith, CAE posted 9 days ago
Learn takeaways from NAEP's Epic 2026 conference that apply to risk management Creating an Effective Collaboration Between Risk and Procurement Professionals The National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP) Epic 2026 conference, an annual gathering of our procurement-focused colleagues, underscored a defining reality for higher education: procurement and risk management are no longer transactional back‑office functions. They are increasingly central to institutional resilience, financial sustainability, and strategic decision‑making. Across keynote sessions, panel discussions, and market research briefings, a clear theme emerged— digital ...

Where to Start and What to Know When Creating AI Policy in Higher Ed

By URMIA Staff posted 03-24-2026
Use this checklist to help develop and implement effective AI policies Practical Steps for Getting Started or Refining a Policy We hear constantly about the need for an artificial intelligence (AI) policy for our institutions, but the noise surrounding the topic is overwhelming, and can leave many institutions unsure of where to start. URMIA recently hosted a webinar I delivered, “AI Policy in Higher Education: Where to Start and What You Need to Know.” Here, I’ll share more of a checklist to help you get started. To dig deeper into the subject, URMIA members can listen to the full recording of the webinar in the URMIA Library. ...

URMIA Launches “Risk Hero” Spotlight Recognition Program

By URMIA Staff posted 03-24-2026
Read about URMIA’s new award honoring risk mitigation strategies from all over campus Every Day Efforts Added Together Make a Difference URMIA is proud to introduce the Risk Hero Spotlight , a new quarterly recognition that shines a light on the people who protect our campuses through thoughtful decisions, everyday diligence, and creative problem-solving. This program celebrates those practical, risk-informed actions — big and small — that make our students, faculty, staff, and institutions safer and more resilient. Overview The Risk Hero Spotlight celebrates individuals who demonstrate passion, expertise, and leadership in higher ...

URMIA Member Profile: Maice Clanton, YoPro Community Co-Champion

By URMIA Staff posted 03-24-2026
Get to know a fellow member who is on the leadership team for our YoPro Community A Look at Maice’s Risk Management Role Maice Clanton is the coordinator, risk management and safety for Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. She’s been in URMIA for just over a year and recently became a co-champion of URMIA’s YoPro Community’s leadership team, where she helps plan and facilitate community events. Let’s get to know Maice outside of her risk management role. Tell us about your path to higher ed risk management. Did you grow up wanting to be a risk manager? As I’ve come to learn of many of my peers in risk management, I happened into ...

Did You Celebrate Single Tasking Day?

By URMIA Staff posted 03-24-2026
Learn some tips for breaking what we now know are actually bad habits The Quest to Use My Time Better I just discovered I missed Single Tasking Day. I guess that Single Tasking Day wasn’t on one of the 14 tabs I had open on February 22 nd, which is when the rest of the world celebrated this notorious day. (OK, February 22 nd was on a Sunday this year, so I probably didn’t have 14 tabs open, but I was likely trying to do at least four different household chores at the same time, and doing a mediocre job at each of them.) I discovered this in an article about how what I once cited in job interviews as one of my strengths – multitasking – ...

Don’t Gamble with Lithium-Ion Battery Risks

By URMIA Staff posted 02-23-2026
Learn information that can help keep your campus safe Implement Precautions on Your Campus Lithium-ion batteries have become nearly invisible in daily life, powering our phones, scooters, laptops, tools, research equipment, electric vehicles, and even large-scale energy storage systems. Yet as their presence expands on college and university campuses, so does the urgency to understand and manage the risks they pose. In URMIA’s Best of the Annual Conference webinar series, Yale University’s Janitza Matta and Gallagher’s Donna Settle delivered a comprehensive, highly practical session on lithium-ion battery safety, covering everything ...

URMIA Member Profile: Hannah Shelton, YoPro Community Co-Champion

By URMIA Staff posted 02-23-2026
Get to know a fellow member who is on the leadership team for our YoPro Community A Look at Hannah’s Risk Management Role Hannah Shelton is a risk analyst for the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. She’s been an URMIAn for a little over a year and just recently joined the YoPro Community’s leadership team helping plan and facilitate community events, bringing another perspective to the group. Let’s get to know Hannah outside of her risk management role. Tell us about your path to higher ed risk management. Did you grow up wanting to be a risk manager? My path to higher ed risk management has been ...

Institutional Profiles of Risk Management - Part 12

By URMIA Staff posted 01-27-2026
Discover what the risk management function/structure looks like at other URMIA member institutions If You’ve Seen Two Institutions’ Risk Management Structure… Modifying our favorite phrase from Gary Langsdale, an URMIA past president and former assistant vice president & university risk officer at Penn State University, we would complete the header to say “you’ve seen two institutions’ risk management structure.” We’re sharing the risk management profile of URMIA institutional members to help you see how others are structured and find some fellow URMIAns that you might want to connect with because you have a question about how they operate. This month's ...

In Their Own Words: What URMIA Scholarship Recipients Took Home from the 2025 Annual Conference

By URMIA Staff posted 01-27-2026
Read what first-time attendees though about the conference and what they’re doing back at home Helping Risk Managers Continue to Grow and Thrive As you may have noticed in URMIA’s 2025 Impact Report , the association was able to present more scholarships to help members attend our 2025 Annual Conference. These scholarships were awarded to URMIA members who had not attended an annual conference prior to the 2025 event. Impressions from Their Conference Attendance Here’s what some of the scholarship recipients shared about what they discovered at the conference. “What I valued most were the connections with other URMIA members. ...

Top Compliance Risks in Higher Education in 2026

By URMIA Staff posted 01-27-2026
Note these risks that are likely to impact your institution in the coming year Risks That Fellow URMIAns Are Expecting to Spend Time on This Year URMIA’s Compliance Community posted a survey at the end of 2025 asking for the top compliance risks expected in 2026. While it may not have been the largest survey response, the list of these top risks is still relevant to the entire URMIA membership. As one can imagine, the top risks vary by institution size. Here’s a snapshot of the results based on institution size. What These Risks Mean for Institutions Overall, the top 11 compliance risks identified for the coming year ...

Balancing Innovation and Risk: A Strategic Imperative for Higher Education

By URMIA Staff posted 12-16-2025
Review a new tool designed to promote collaboration across IHE departments Pursuing Strategic Innovation Institutions of higher education (IHEs) today face a complex landscape marked by shifting demographics, fluctuating enrollment, evolving compliance mandates, shrinking federal funding, budgetary pressures, workforce reductions, and mounting deferred maintenance. To remain resilient and relevant, IHEs must pursue strategic innovation—exploring new opportunities that strengthen institutional sustainability and mission alignment. Yet every meaningful innovation carries an element of uncertainty. The challenge for risk professionals ...

Institutional Profiles of Risk Management - Part 11

By URMIA Staff posted 12-16-2025
Discover what the risk management function/structure looks like at other URMIA member institutions If You’ve Seen Two Institutions’ Risk Management Structure… Modifying our favorite phrase from Gary Langsdale, an URMIA past president and former assistant vice president & university risk officer at Penn State University, we would complete the header to say “you’ve seen two institutions’ risk management structure.” We’re sharing the risk management profile of URMIA institutional members to help you see how others are structured and find some fellow URMIAns that you might want to connect with because you have a question about how they operate. ...

Welcome URMIA’s Newest Members of the Board of Directors

By URMIA Staff posted 11-17-2025
Meet the five new members joining the board and three who are taking on new roles Get to Know the URMIA Leadership As we start a new “governance year” for URMIA, we want to help you get to know those who are leading the organization for the 2025-2026 year. For more information on our leadership, check out URMIA’s Board of Directors home page and our posts on social media ( Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn ). Miguel Delgado, President of URMIA Miguel is taking over the presidency after serving as president-elect for URMIA last year. He has served on the board of directors since 2021 and has been in higher ed risk management for ...

Institutional Profiles of Risk Management - Part 10

By URMIA Staff posted 11-17-2025
Discover what the risk management function/structure looks like at other URMIA member institutions If You’ve Seen Two Institutions’ Risk Management Structure… Modifying our favorite phrase from Gary Langsdale, an URMIA past president and former assistant vice president & university risk officer at Penn State University, we would complete the header to say “you’ve seen two institutions’ risk management structure.” We’re sharing the risk management profile of URMIA institutional members to help you see how others are structured and find some fellow URMIAns that you might want to connect with because you have a question about how they operate. ...

Collaboration, Strategic Planning, and Communications’ Roles in Building Disaster-Resilient Campuses

By Susan Liden, DRM posted 11-17-2025
Access resources from the DRU Summit and the DRU Network’s Initiatives Strategies for Enhancing Campus Resilience This past April, Carol Rehnberg, director of risk management at Western Washington University; Jacob Sajinyan, director of risk management at Washington State University; and I represented URMIA at the 2025 National Disaster Resilient Universities (DRU) Network Summit at the University of Oregon, Portland campus. The summit brought together more than 50 experts and practitioners from institutions of higher education. It provided participants with the opportunity to discuss enterprise risk management and emergency management and ...