Case in Point

1. Be open, transparent, and honest about whatever mistake or incident occurred and communicate about it openly, owning the mistake. That’s called leadership.
2. Realize that within every crisis there lies opportunities to make advances and improvements more quickly than normal. People are more open to change when failure happens, so use this to make processes, personnel, or systems better than before. That’s also called leadership.
3. Don’t neglect post-crisis communication. Communicate with your stakeholders about how issues were resolved and improved. This builds trust and confidence, and you may find yourself in a better place than before the crisis. Believe it or not that’s also called leadership.

1. The opportunity to help students grow and learn in ways that will impact their future for generations. I’ve been fortunate to also teach much of my career, and I love evaluations like one I read recently that said, “we learned things that will help us not only in our career but in life.” You may not be in the classroom, but you have opportunities to interact with students if you look for them.
2. The opportunity to work in an industry that is collaborative.  In higher education, we share our best practices and truly do try to help each other in our respective missions. It’s why we write this newsletter each month.
3. The opportunity to work in an industry that values work life balance. Hopefully, you will get to enjoy this balance during Thanksgiving weekend.

Nov 15: Data Breach: Princeton University on Saturday sent a message to people - including students, alumni, donors, some faculty, and parents - whose information may have been accessed during a data breach that lasted "less than 24 hours." The breach occurred on November 10, with the notice sent out by the week to notify the university community that their information may have been accessed by "outside actors." (link)

Nov 06: Data Breach: There is new fallout over a data breach at the University of Pennsylvania. A Penn graduate has now filed a class-action lawsuit, claiming the school failed to protect personal information after last week's hack. A series of suspicious emails were sent to students, staff and alumni. (link)

Nov 04: Cyberattack: The University of Pennsylvania has reported a massive data breach to the Federal Bureau of Investigation involving data including information on Penn donors, alumni and students, as well as internal university memos and banking information. Some of the information is believed to date back decades. (link)

Nov 01: Data Breach: On Nov. 19, 2024, Green Mountain Higher Education Consortium discovered suspicious activity in its email environment. An investigation determined that two employee email accounts may have been accessed by a threat actor between Oct. 30, 2024, and Nov. 20, 2024. According to reports, the cybersecurity incident affected at least 3,184 individuals. (link)

Nov 10: Financial Mismanagement: Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have ordered the Texas Rangers to investigate Texas Southern University on Monday after a new state audit found evidence of poor bookkeeping and financial mismanagement. (link)

Nov 05: Academic Integrity: Confronted with allegations that they had cheated in an introductory data science course and fudged their attendance, dozens of undergraduates at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign recently sent two professors a mea culpa via email. But there was one problem, a glaring one: They had not written the emails. (link)

Nov 01: Academic Fraud: An Ivy League student accused of making up an entire life story to gain admission was expelled earlier this semester, prompting fresh concerns over academic fraud and gaps in university vetting that experts say could also expose elite institutions to foreign influence and espionage risks. (link)

Nov 02: Financial Aid Fraud: Students both in person and online are taking the next steps in their educational careers to getting their diploma. But not all students enrolled are in it for the degree. Fake student enrollment is becoming a major ongoing issue for community colleges across the United States. This is resulting in millions of dollars being given to scammers who are using fake IDs to get federal and state student aid. (link)

Nov 14: Termination Lawsuit: A University of Kentucky law professor sued the university on Thursday, claiming it violated his free speech and due process rights this summer when it removed him from teaching, banned him from campus, and launched an investigation into his criticisms of Israel at academic conferences and in online forums. (link)

Nov 11: Title IX: A woman is suing the Board of Regents of Texas Tech University System and her alleged rapist after she said her case was not handled properly. The woman and her attorney said the university mishandled her assault and "acted with deliberate indifference to the sexual assault." (link)

Nov 09: Whistleblower Litigation: For the last year, Western New Mexico University’s former president, Joseph Shepard, has been at the center of controversy and allegations surrounding university spending. The former university president is denying all claims of fraud and, in a recent lawsuit, is instead claiming to be the target of retaliation and conspiracy. (link)

Nov 07: Federal Compliance: Cornell University reached an agreement with the Trump administration on Friday that will restore hundreds of millions in federal funding to the university, according to school and government officials. The agreement would also end government investigations that placed the Ivy League school under months of federal scrutiny over accusations of antisemitism and admissions discrimination. (link)

Nov 05: Smuggling: Two Chinese nationals are facing federal charges of conspiracy to smuggle goods into the U.S., and a third is charged with false statements, all related to an investigation of biological materials intended to be shipped to Michigan. (link)

Nov 01: Whistleblower Litigation: The former president of Western New Mexico University has fired back at his accusers by filing a whistleblower lawsuit alleging Democratic state lawmakers and government officials used their power in a vendetta against him. (link)

Nov 22: Assault: A UAB football player is in custody after two other players were injured in a stabbing at the UAB Football Operations Center Saturday morning, according to the university. (link)

Nov 21: Hazing: Days after a University of Houston fraternity was shut down due to hazing allegations, a lawsuit was filed against UH, the fraternity and several fraternity members. The lawsuit was brought by Leonel Bermudez, who claims he suffered serious physical and psychological injuries as a result of extreme hazing during the Fall 2025 pledge process for the Beta Nu Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi at the University of Houston. (link)

Nov 20: Hazing: UT parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a fraternity on Thursday, alleging hazing and illegal substances from the fraternity drove their son into a mental health crisis that led him to take his own life in January 2024, according to the lawsuit. (link)

Nov 20: Assault: A Temple University student has been suspended as the school works with the Philadelphia Police Department to investigate reports of sexual assault, the school announced on Thursday. According to officials at Temple, there have been two reported incidents of sexual assault allegedly committed by the same student. (link)

Nov 17: Hazing: The University of Houston says the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity chapter on campus has been shut down following an investigation into hazing. Alleged hazing involved physical abuse, forced consumption, and public humiliation, leading to one non-UH student being hospitalized on Nov. 3. (link)

Nov 15: Hazing: Indiana University on Friday suspended indefinitely members of its Interfraternity Council from parties, tailgates and more in a probe for "alleged hazing behaviors," according to a letter provided to IndyStar. It's a significant step for a university campus with a robust and long-standing Greek community. (link)

Nov 12: Academic Freedom: A lecturer in the Indiana University School of Social Work has been removed from teaching one of her classes -- "Diversity, Human Rights, and Social Justice" -- while the university investigates a complaint by a student against material she presented. (link)

Nov 12: Assault: A defendant found guilty of a 2019 robbery and battery on Florida State University's campus has been sentenced to 10 years in state prison. In October 2019, he robbed and attacked an FSU freshman outside of Gilchrist Hall, tackling the student to the ground while holding a knife and stealing his phone, prosecutors said. (link)

Nov 11: Sexual Assault: University of Arkansas police said Tuesday they're investigating two alleged rapes at residence halls reported within 24 hours of each other. The University of Arkansas Police Department (UAPD) said there was an assault and rape reported at Walton Hall on Nov. 6, and a rape reported at Yocum Hall on Nov. 7. Both residence buildings are co-ed and house hundreds of students. (link)

Nov 11: Protests: A Turning Point USA event descended into chaos on Monday as violent protests broke out at the University of California, Berkeley. The violence at Berkeley underscores the deepening tensions surrounding free speech, political polarization and campus safety in the United States. (link)

Nov 10: Academic Freedom: A Texas A&M University faculty committee created in the wake of two high-profile controversies that raised concerns about political interference in academic and personnel decisions found that the recent firing of English professor Melissa McCoul violated her academic freedom. (link)

Nov 06: Sex Crime: More details have emerged today about a man police say spent hours in a UC Berkeley sorority house last weekend, peeping into windows, watching women sleep and peering into occupied shower stalls. (link)

Nov 11: Assault: Rider University went on lockdown Monday afternoon after police say a student with a knife threatened several people during a confrontation inside a campus residence hall. (link)

Nov 10: Vandalism: UCPD arrested four students early Monday morning for felony vandalism, according to information from campus administrators. The individuals were arrested while attempting to hang an approximately five-foot-tall cardboard bug off Sather Gate in protest of Turning Point USA’s, or TPUSA, upcoming event on campus. (link)

Nov 05: Sexual Assault: Indiana University police have issued a crime notice after a string of rapes on the Bloomington campus to start the month of November. Three sexual assaults were reported on the campus, in three different locations. (link)

Nov 05: Hazing: Another fraternity is facing disciplinary action over hazing at Indiana University. So far, five fraternities have been penalized for such activity during the fall semester. The latest to be to added to the growing list of fraternities in hot water is the Sigma Phi Epsilon house. IU has suspended the fraternity from social activities, but there is no ongoing criminal investigation into the organization. (link)

Nov 04: Vandalism: Investigators have arrested two men accused of using a firework to cause an explosion at a research lab at the Harvard Medical School campus over the weekend. The FBI confirmed Tuesday that the FBI Boston's Joint Terrorism Task Force and Harvard University Police Department arrested two Massachusetts men in the case. (link)

Nov 03: Sexual Assault: Over Halloween weekend, East Carolina University experienced a dorm fire caused by a lithium battery and another report of sexual assault. ECU police, along with university officials, say they are emphasizing safety and education on these topics. (link)

Nov 01: Hazing: Southern University in Baton Rouge has suspended the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity's Beta Sigma chapter following allegations of misconduct by some of its members. The fraternity is now under a cease and desist order as university police investigate potential violations of the hazing policy and the Student code of conduct. (link)