Case In Point

As I was considering what to write about this month, I looked back at last September and saw I wrote the following in this column:

''In Case in Point, our goal is to keep you updated on the latest risks impacting higher education. As you may have noticed, the diversity of risk is massive, and even filing each story into a single category becomes a challenge. One risk area we have not discussed recently is emergency preparedness. The types of emergencies we could potentially see are wide ranging, but for most of us they would fall into a few categories: campus violence, weather, or chemical/biological incidents.

Last week much of our time at AU was spent watching Hurricane Helene as it developed in the Gulf of Mexico. It initially had a projected path that would have impacted our campus until late movement took the storm further east. Unfortunately for our neighbors in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina (and some others), they have had substantial damage and flooding that continues at this writing.''

Thankfully this year we aren’t monitoring any potential hurricanes—at this point anyway—but I did notice that September has been designated ''National Preparedness Month'' by FEMA. They have multiple resources at National Preparedness Month | Ready.gov. Take a look at these resources and consider what disaster and emergency risks you face at your institution. Preparation can make all the difference should you face these issues.

While you may not be facing a natural disaster right now, you are certainly facing a multitude of risk. Therefore, we again invite you to review the events across higher education with a view toward proactively managing that risk. As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions.